A Two Alter-Ego Interview

Catriona writes: When I invited Edith Maxwell to guest blog today, I had no idea we were in for a twofer. What a great idea for a blog post, when you've got two very different books coming out close together, as I do next month . . . So, for the inspiration, as well as the novels, the recipes, the friendship and the wisdom . . . three cheers for my old pal, Edith Maxwell! 

 

Edith writes: Thanks to Catriona for inviting me to be a Femme Fatale for a day!

Neither my 1889 midwife-protagonist Rose Carroll nor my contemporary chef-carpenter Robbie Jordan is much of a femme fatale, but having two books out in one month makes me a little bit of a badass, don’t you think? I’ve decided the occasion calls for me and my alter-ego Maddie Day to interview each other here about our nineteenth and twentieth novels. To celebrate our joint release month, we’ll send a signed copy of Judge Thee Not to one commenter here and a signed copy if Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse to another (US only for both - CMcP).

Edith: Maddie, you have a novella out today in the three-novella collection Christmas Cocoa Murder. What is a novella, anyway, and have you ever written one before?

 

Maddie: A novella, as my editor proposed it to me, is about a third of a book; that is, either a really short book or a super-long short story. He asked for 25,000 words.  “Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse” ended up about at 27,000 words, which was fine with him. I’d never written a novella before (and neither have you, as I recall), and I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. But our Wicked Authors blogmate has written three for similar collections, so I consulted with her a little, and I pulled it off. You and I were already a teensy bit busy between us writing three books a year, but hey, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

What about your new book, Judge Thee Not, which released two weeks ago? The previous publisher dropped their crime fiction line, right? Where did you go for this one?

Edith: Yes, Midnight Ink isn’t publishing any new mysteries, which left a lot of us orphaned – Catriona among them. I was able to move this series to Beyond the Page Publishing. I wasn’t done with the series arc and didn’t want to do the work of putting the books out on my own. Beyond the Page has a great cover artist who reproduces the look and feel of the previous covers, and the editing was excellent. Except for the size of the paperbacks, which is slightly taller than the previous ones, I don’t think readers will even notice.

I’ve heard you describe your novella as book 6.5 in the Country Store Mysteries. Did writing a book set at Christmas fit easily into the other books?

 

Maddie: Yes! I was so glad it did, too. Strangled Eggs and Ham, #6, which came out in June, takes place during a steamy August in southern Indiana, and I’d already planned for book #7 to take place in February the next year (in Nacho Average Murder, Robbie goes back to California for her tenth high school reunion). I didn’t have to wrangle a prequel or some other kind of season swapping in order to write a December holiday story.

Judge Thee Not is the fifth Rose Carroll story. Will there be more after that?

 

Edith: I signed a contract through book #7. I might wind the series down with that book, or I might not. Stand by for news! I’m nearly done writing book #6, which will be out a year from now.

What about you? Will the Country Store series keep going?

 

Maddie: I hope so. I’m under contract through book #9, and the books are selling quite well. Readers really seem to connect with my characters and the southern Midwestern village I invented. I guess the stories are working, too.

I know you write Agatha-nominated short stories as well as the Quaker Midwife Mysteries. Do you have any news on that front?

 

Edith: I do! Thanks for asking, Maddie. My first short story in one of the two biggies will appear in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine in the March edition, which comes out in February. It’s called “One Too Many,” and tells the tale of a hyperpolyglot who uses her talent in acquiring languages in unusual ways. They also recorded me reading the story for their podcast. I’m really excited about making the big time, short story-wise, after a dozen stories published in juried anthologies.

Now, we both know that readers often ask if we get our series mixed up. They ask, “Don’t you get confused, writing three series?” What do you say?

 

Maddie: Probably what you say. “I don’t get confused because my characters are so real to me.” Right?

 

Edith: Exactly! When I was starting out, I would sometimes have one protagonist do or say something that was more appropriate for my other main character. But that was way back with books two and three. I don’t find it happens any more.

I know your first Cozy Capers Book Group mystery came out in limited distribution last year. What’s the scoop on that?

Maddie: Murder on Cape Cod goes to wide release on December 31. Finally all my fans who read only on Kindle, for example, can get their hands on it, as well as indy bookstores. For those who don’t know, Mac Almeida owns a bike shop in a fictional Cape Cod town and is part of a book group that only reads cozy mysteries. The group, of course, gets involved in helping her solve a murder. Can’t get much more meta than that! Book #2, Murder at the Taffy Shop, releases in March – but again on a Barnes & Noble exclusive for one year. It’s an experiment between B&N and Kensington. So far the first book did hugely well, so I agreed to place #2 in the same deal.

If it’s okay with you, I think we should wrap this up and get back to our writing. Fun chatting with ya, Edith.

 

Edith:  Likewise, Madd. See you around the office cooler.

 

Femmes Readers: Do you pick up books in a different sub genre by your favorite author’s alter ego? Do you prefer contemporary cozies, historical mysteries, or just like a good story? Authors, who else has written a novella, and how did you like the process?

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Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Maxwell, with nineteen novels in print and four more completed, has been nominated for an Agatha Award six times. She lives north of Boston with her beau and an elderly cat, and gardens and cooks when she isn’t killing people on the page or wasting time on Facebook. Please also find her at edithmaxwell.com, on Instagram, on Twitter, and at the Wicked Authors blog.

In “Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse,” local businessman Jed Greenberg is found dead with a chocolate lab whimpering over his body, and the police start sniffing around Robbie Jordan’s country restaurant for answers. Was it something in Robbie’s hot cocoa that killed Jed, or was it Cocoa the dog? As the suspects pile as high as her holiday tree, Robbie attempts to get to the bottom of the sickly-sweet murder . . .
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In Judge Thee Not, 1880s Quaker midwife Rose Carroll is no stranger to judgmental attitudes in her small town. She’s nonetheless stunned when society matron Mayme Settle publicly snubs Rose’s good friend Bertie for her nontraditional ways. When Mrs. Settle is later found murdered—and a supposed witness insists Bertie was spotted near the scene of the crime—the police blame her. Rose is certain her friend is innocent, and she enlists the help of a blind pregnant client—who’s endured her own share of prejudice—to help her sift through the clues. As the two uncover a slew of suspects tied to financial intrigues, illicit love, and an age-old grudge over perceived wrongs, circumstantial evidence looms large in small minds, and Rose fears her friend will soon become the victim of a grave injustice—or worse. 

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Comments

[Mark]

What a fun post. Thanks Edith/Maddie.

I do usually follow an author around to different sub-genres. However, if I don't care for a series or a subgenre, I will skip it. It's mostly a case by case decision.

[Edith Maxwell]

Thanks, Mark!

[Marla B]

What a fun interview! And yes, I will read different genres if it's an author I like. As long as the story is good it doesn't much matter to me how it's classified.

[Storyteller Mary]

I stand in awe of the talent and hard work involved in creating characters that feel so real in situations of suspense, and with lessons deftly included. Yes, I follow favorite writers through new series (and name changes) and happily write reviews to help keep the book coming. I'm looking forward to details of the EQ podcast as well.

[Marilyn Watson]

I love cozy, traditional, historical and golden age mysteries but only in certain categories i.e. Era's... If the Author writes in cozy I will look at her others but it depends on the Era as to whether I would read it.

[Sally Fortney]

I will follow an author to different series or genres. Mostly I like them all but sometimes I just stay with the original favorite series. At least I give them a try.

[Robin L. Coxon]

I read both you and your alter ego. Each series is so unique but my favorite is the Midwife series. I am a historical fiction reader and these fascinate me. Keep on writing.

[Sandy Todd]

What a fun interview! Love you both! Yes, I do read an author's alter-ego most of the time and find that it is nice to see the different writing styles one person can have. Thanks for a chance to win ladies! lol

[Kara Marks]

Fun interview. I usually read an author’s alter-ego too. Legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com

[Edith Maxwell]

And the winners are Sally Fortney and Sandy Todd! Please write to me at edith@edithmaxwell.com. Congratulations, and thanks to everyone for stopping by. I wish I had a book for each of you.

[Paulo Roberto Carvalho da Costa Junior]

Beautiful I thought it was great post congratulations