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Now let’s shine the spotlight on Holly!

Maer:  Thanks for joining us to tell us about your new book, Mistress of Lies. What is the funniest or oddest thing that has happened to you as an author?

HW:  This isn’t funny or odd, exactly, but this year, I attended my first mystery conference as a published author. Back in 2009, when I attended my first conference as a fan, I got to meet Sue Grafton, my writing idol. Fast forward to this recent conference and I found myself at the same signing table with Sue. She was at one end, and I was on the other, like bookends. In all the fantasies I’d ever had about being a published author, this one hadn’t occurred to me. It was quite a thrill.

Maer:  Oh, I bet! How fun. Do you use beta readers and, if so, what qualities do you look for in a beta?

HW:  I’ve been fortunate to have some great beta readers. They really are so important to the process of making your book the best it can be. I look for readers who I trust will give me honest feedback, people who are fairly well-read in a variety of genres, and are, in general, book lovers.

Maer:  So, what is a one-line synopsis for your book?

HW:  When a beggar girl claiming to be Isabel Wilde’s niece reveals that Isabel’s brother, Adam, was murdered during the plague, Isabel must take up an impossible task: discover the truth about her brother’s death, twelve years after it happened.

Maer:  Like all of your books, this one sounds fascinating. Is this a stand-alone or part of a series?

HW:  Mistress of Lies is the second in the Mistress of Fortune historical mystery series, set in Restoration London and featuring Isabel, Lady Wilde, a mistress to King Charles II who secretly makes her living as a fortuneteller.

Maer:  I love the premise for your series. Which character, other than Isabel, is one of your favorites to write and why?

HW:  Without question, it’s Lucian Barber, my MC’s brother. He’s a moderately successful playwright at with the Duke of York’s Theater, a womanizer, and favorite of King Charles II. Lucian is funny, irreverent, and bawdy—a hopeless gambler and given to drunkenness—but so charming that no one can resist him.

Maer:  he sounds it. If you had to pick a color to describe Isabel what would that be and why?

HW:  This is a tough question because I never think of people (or characters) in terms of color. But I think I’d choose green for Isabel because she has auburn colored hair and green looks good on her.

Maer:  Who are your favorite authors to read?

HW:  For crime and mysteries I love Sue Grafton, Lawrence Block, David Liss, and Tana French. I’m currently loving Megan Abbot’s books, especially DARE ME, which I just finished. I’m a big fan of true crime and for this Erik Larson is my favorite.

Maer:  Can you share a bit about the project you’re working on now?

HW:  My current project is a contemporary stand-alone novel set in Los Angeles (my current home) and a fictional town called Gold Valley in Northern California, based upon the town I grew up in. It’s about an alcoholic actress who has a repressed memory during a counseling session in rehab and realizes she witnessed her mother’s murder 25 years earlier. She returns to her hometown to investigate.

Maer:  That one should be another winner! What do you do when you’re not writing?

HW:  My life is pretty simple. I read a lot, watch movies and cooking shows. My husband and I enjoy skiing and traveling in general. We went to Machu Picchu this year, which was fantastic. Everyone should go if they have a chance. My bio says one of my hobbies is petting dogs, which is absolutely true—I pretty much have to pet every dog I meet.

Maer:  You’re on the right blog! Big-time dog lover here, too. What influenced you to write in your genre? Do you write in others?

HW:  Sue Grafton, David Liss, and Lawrence Block are my three biggest influences in the genre. I don’t currently write other genres, but I’d love to write a young adult novel or a true crime book some time.

Maer:  What music, if any, do you like to listen to while writing?

HW:  Music is too distracting for me, especially if it has words.

Maer:  Holly, thank you so much for being on the blog today. Best of luck with your new novel. Do you have anything you’d like to add?

HW:  Thanks for hosting me, and of course, thanks to my readers!