Flora McGowan joins us for this week’s The Cozy 52 interview. Read on to find out more about her books, her wonderful travel experiences, and what she has coming up next!
Who or What is The Cozy 52? Each week I will be sharing an interview with someone involved with Cozy Mysteries – an author, blogger, Facebook Group host, podcaster, cover designer – so that we can showcase this amazing community! I hope you’ll discover some new authors, plus learn more about what goes on behind the scenes with the people who write, publish and promote cozy mysteries!
Introducing Flora McGowan
NAME: Flora McGowan
LIST ALL YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES:
- Carrie and Keith Mysteries (Material Witness, Thirteen in the Medina, Playing With Fire)
- Seasonal Shorts (collection of short stories)
- Various short stories in anthologies including –
- The Little Shop of Murders (in aid of 3 children’s charities)
- Not Just Soldiers: Aid for Ukraine (all royalties to Ukraine via Red Cross)
- Fate’s Call (in aid of an author)
- The Phantom Games (Olympic Games inspired anthology)
HOW ARE YOUR COZY MYSTERIES PUBLISHED?
My books are self-published. The anthologies have been independently published.
I like the freedom of self-publishing and not having to wait months before your book is published. Also, I love being able to help design my covers. I have heard that traditionally published authors can have little or no say in their covers and often hate them. It can be frustrating though, trawling through sites like Shutterstock, trying to find the right images to pass onto the designer so that she can create a great cover. My favourite cover has to be Thirteen in the Medina and being allowed to have those camels going over the sand dunes in the moonlight! (I thought I might be overruled on that suggestion). However, I am absolutely useless at marketing….
The Q&A
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF
I am the author of the Carrie and Keith Mysteries, novels and short stories which combine a mix of mystery with the mystical and supernatural, often with an historical element as well as a touch of humour and a dash of romance.
I was born in Dorset on the south coast of England and many of my stories are based in this area, such as The Giant’s Gift which features the famous Cerne Abbas Giant. I enjoy travelling, taking inspiration from the places I visit.
LIST THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT WE WOULDN’T READ IN YOUR ‘OFFICIAL’ BIO.
- I’ve ridden a camel past the pyramids, and also in the Sahara desert (both very short rides thankfully, as riding a camel is rather uncomfortable). I’ve also been inside a pyramid.
- I took my Dad to the UK London film premier of Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country. I wore a Captain Scarlet (and the Mysterons) T-shirt, which impressed the chap checking the tickets.
- When I was about eight years old I followed my Mum around the house as she did her housework so I would not be alone reading an Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators book (either The Green Ghost or The Whispering Mummy) whenever there was a scary bit!
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START WRITING? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WRITE COZY MYSTERIES?
I always had my nose in a book as a child therefore it seemed a natural progression to want to write similar stories. I grew up on Enid Blyton, particularly the Adventure series. However, my favourite books (I still have an almost complete set), was Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators. As a teenager I moved onto the mysteries of Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen and Erle Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason) and Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels, plus some science fiction such as Arthur C Clarke. I love John Wyndham’s books, he wrote so many classics – The Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos, The Chrysalids etc. I have so many bookcases…
I had hoped to write gritty mysteries or gripping suspense novels, unfortunately whatever I wrote developed with a humorous slant. I think it was Bernard Cornwell (author of Sharpe and The Last Kingdom series) who said he tried writing horror stories but his villains were never nasty enough so he decided to stick to his usual style, and I think that is good advice. Writers are always advised to write what they know, and I would add, write in a style that comes naturally to you, don’t force it.
WHAT SUBGENRE(S) OR THEMES OF COZY MYSTERIES DO YOU WRITE?
Material Witness is a ghost story as are most of my short stories – but obviously not frightening in any way! The two stories I have in The Phantom Games (The Hungriest Man on the Hill and Just Add Water) are Sci Fi/horror but still in a cozy style, unfortunately I cannot say more due to spoilers but when my editor first received my ski jumping tale I warned her not to read it while she was eating…
Thirteen in the Medina is a more traditional type of cozy mystery/suspense while Playing With Fire is a cozy/romantic suspense.
There are no pets in my stories, however they do feature Colin, Keith’s young nephew, who was only originally supposed to make a fleeting visit in Material Witness, but he kept popping up until I realised he was actually an integral part of the story. I always know when a story is going well as it does kind of write itself in this way.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES. WHAT INSPIRES YOUR SERIES?
Material Witness is about a woman, Carrie, who buys clothes over the internet (eBay) and the unexpected problems this causes her. She is also desperately in love with her friend, Keith, who seems oblivious to her infatuation. Keith has his own problems as he spends much of his time babysitting his young nephew as his single parent sister cannot cope.
In Thirteen in the Medina Carrie goes on holiday to Morocco only to discover Keith tagging along. However, she is disappointed in her hopes for a holiday romance as an older woman appears to have her claws into him. But romance may not be on that woman’s mind as Carrie fears Keith is being used as a drugs mule.
Playing With Fire is a prequel, set before Carrie met Keith, when she is on holiday in Sicily where she meets Millie, a spritely octogenarian, and local Enzo who keeps appearing as she tours the island. Enzo is identified as a burglar and Carrie wonders if he is searching for Excalibur the sword of Arthur, the legendary British King, which was reputed to have last been seen in Sicily. And yes, the first time I was in Sicily I really did bump into a man riding a bicycle who offered to escort me and my two female companions around Catania, however, unlike Carrie and her friends we declined!
I try to write about normal everyday things that people can relate to, a trip to the seaside or taking a short cut through the park. My short stories cover such diverse subjects as thinking you are being followed, to problems knitting and a persistent carol singer, although admittedly carol singing is not as prevalent as it used to be.
I always take a notebook on holiday to jot down ideas. I got the idea for Playing With Fire when I was in Sicily and saw all those bottles covered in lava chippings, and Enzo developed from the man on the bike incident. With Thirteen in the Medina I was unfortunate enough to be on a plane behind a person who was not feeling very well and yet miraculously once we landed and passed through customs they seemed to have recovered! In Tunisia one of the hotels had a metal mesh or grill covering the windows along one side only and I wondered why, why just certain rooms. That inspired a short story, At The Edge. It is these little oddities that make me think why? Or what if…?
WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE LOVE TO READ COZY MYSTERIES?
I think people are basically very nosey, whether it is simply wondering who has just bought the house down the road or something more complex like a murder mystery/whodunit. Mysteries keep us on our toes, make us think.
ASIDE FROM BEING AN AUTHOR, ARE YOU INVOLVED IN THE COZY COMMUNITY IN ANY OTHER WAY?
Um, no, sorry.
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE WRITERS?
I love reading some of the Golden Age mystery writers (Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Josephine Tey and Georgette Heyer, who although famous as a romance novelist wrote some excellent mysteries). Then there are the ancient mystery writers Steven Saylor and Lindsey Davies. More recently I have been reading Andrea Camilleri (Inspector Montalbano) Harlan Coben and Anthony Horowitz.
IF YOU WERE MAROONED ON A DESERTED ISLAND, WHAT 3 BOOKS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU?
Probably a book on survival skills, a large note book/journal to jot down my experiences and a very large history/reference book of the world. If I had a fiction book I would be rather frustrated that I did not have the next one in the series.
DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECTS COMING UP THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?
I have two current projects; one is the follow up to Thirteen in the Medina where Carrie finally takes her friend Pat’s advice and finds herself a boyfriend (who is not Keith). This is set in the autumn/winter months and we find out more about Keith’s family. It actually has quite a sad part, as well as all the funny stuff with Guy Fawkes night, Christmas pantomimes and building snowmen.
The other is a standalone novel where one of the characters has Coeliac disease. I was diagnosed with this hereditary condition a couple of years ago, which significantly changed my life, having to eat gluten-free food and drink. Many people misunderstand this condition thinking it is a voluntary lifestyle choice – it is not. It is an auto-immune condition where the immune system attacks the gut which is then unable to digest nutrients leading to health issues including anaemia, osteoporosis (fragile bones that break more easily) and recurrent miscarriages. If gluten containing products are accidently eaten/drunk the effects may last a couple of days, but the cumulative effect on the body can lead to serious problems. The story itself is a romantic suspense, two men, one woman, and she looks like she is going to fall in love with the wrong guy. Plus, they are searching for a lost treasure, and just to make it more difficult for them, they don’t know what the treasure is.
The Quickie 5
- FAVOURITE FOOD: lasagne or moussaka
- BEVERAGE OF CHOICE: now I am no longer able to drink beer/Guinness it would have to be rum and black
- MOST PRIZED POSSESSION: Other than my own paperbacks of course, (sometimes I still cannot walk past the bookcase without sneaking a look at my name running down the spine) I don’t really wear a lot of jewellery but I would say my ammonite necklace given to me by my family one birthday and my great grandmother’s wedding ring – her name was Caroline hence the “heroine” in my stories is called Carrie
- FAVOURITE SEASON? Summer – as I love to sit and read in the sun.
- FAVOURITE VACATION SPOT? I love hot countries with sun and some historic sites to visit, so probably Egypt – I have had two wonderful Nile cruises and am planning a third, but I loved Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia as well. It is not just the countries but on these holidays I had wonderful traveling companions which makes all the difference.
To keep up to date with Flora McGowan online, you can connect with her on:
FACEBOOK | GOODREADS | INSTAGRAM
I enjoyed “meeting” Flora. So cool that she’s ridden a camel past a pyramid! Carrie sounds like an interesting character. Best of luck to Flora on her romantic suspense standalone!
Doesn’t Flora have some fun stories to tell? I’m so envious because I’d love to visit the Nile and the pyramids someday!
Thank you for your kind comments.