ℚ♫ Deadly Season: Carmedy & Garrett Mini-Mysteries [1] - Alison Bruce

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Alison Bruce to talk about Deadly Season (20 November 2015, Imajin QwickiesTM, an imprint of Imajin BooksTM, 111 pages), a Mystery, novella number one in the Carmedy & Garrett series.

Author Q&A | Synopsis | Teaser | The Series | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

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A very warm welcome to Alison Bruce; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

Here at BooksChatter we love music; do you have a music playlist that you used in Deadly Season, or which inspired you whilst you were writing it?

"I love music too and I have a playlist for each of my books.  Planning it out is part of my outlining process.  When I make a plot change, I change the music accordingly.

Deadly Season takes place just before Christmas, so Christmas music figures prominently — especially since Kate likes singing in the office.  Other songs on the list include:

• For the cats: Alley Cat Song, Holly Cole; Pink Panther, Henry Mancini; Black Cat White Cat, Bass Gang
• In memory of Joe Garrett: Yesterday, cello version by Ofra Harnoy; It’s Too Late, Carol King
• For Kate and Jake: Blues in the Night, Ella Fitzgerald; It had Better Be Tonight, Michael Buble; Love Walked In, Benjamin Grosvenor"

And here they are (although I could only find a version of the Alley Cat Song by Peggy Lee) - enjoy!

What was the inspiration for Deadly Season?

"Deadly Season started as a Christmas short story.  I wanted to develop the relationship between Kate and Jake.  At the time there was a problem with a poisoner in one of the dog parks in Toronto.  This gave me the inspiration for a criminal case that a private investigator could reasonably get involved in with police blessing."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"I’m not a police officer or private detective but aside from that I have a lot in common with Kate Garrett.  Or I did when I started writing about her in Deadly Legacy.  Over time she has become her own person and she’s more like a daughter to me.  This might be why I named my own baby girl after her."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover.  Can you tell us about your cover for Deadly Season - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"The artist is Ryan Doan and I love his work.  He’s my publisher, Imajin Books’ choice but I couldn’t have picked better.  I provide a brief synopsis and key elements I’d like to see on the cover.  He provides art that is both appropriate and lovely to look at."

Why should we read Deadly Season and what sets it apart from the rest?  What makes your book unique?

"Being unique is a double-edged sword.  One of the things that make the Carmedy and Garrett series different might also put some readers off.

It is set slightly in the future and a bit off to one side like Batman’s Gotham City, but less comic book.  I looked at the crime shows, like CSI, that are practically science fiction, and asked myself, if forensic technology worked that fast and effectively, what else might be different in society?

I actually anticipated the Smart Phone, but by the time the first book was published, it was old news so I had to upgrade my technology.

In another respect, Deadly Legacy and Deadly Season are throwbacks to the kind of mysteries made popular by Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle.  The reader can follow along with the detective and maybe work out whodunit first."

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"My reading and writing tastes are varied. I suppose that’s why genre mashing comes so naturally to me.  I also love history— reading and writing it—and at one point I considered setting the Carmedy and Garrett mysteries in the Dirty Thirties.  I do have a stand-alone mystery (standing alone waiting for me to polish it up) that’s set in World War II England and based on stories I grew up on from my Nana, mother and aunt.

My first novel, Under A Texas Star, is a historical western romantic adventure.  Hazardous Unions is two novellas about two sisters in the American Civil War.  Both grew out of a fascination with those periods when I was studying history at university.

Two of my favourite authors are Terry Pratchett (Discworld) and Eric Flint (Ring of Fire).  I don’t aspire to write the kind of books they write (or in Sir Terry’s case, wrote) but that doesn’t mean I haven’t got my own fantasy world with an alternate history up my sleeve waiting for the right time.  Meanwhile, you can find a few nods to Pratchett in my novels if you look. You can find even more Star Trek references if you read A Bodyguard to Remember."

What is in store next?

"I’m working on the next Carmedy and Garrett mystery: Deadly Games.  As usual with me, I know what I want to achieve with the characters, but working out the details of the crime they need to solve is a work in progress.  Sometimes I wonder if readers notice how much work goes into plotting a decent murder these days."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I love animals but I’m allergic to fur and feathers.  That hasn’t stopped me from creating my own picture of me as author and crossing guard (one of my day jobs) with a virtual cat."

:-)  Thank you again for joining us and we hope you have a great tour!

Deadly Season
Available NOW!

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