Julie Anne Lindsey

1. How long have you been writing?

I started writing in 2011 after the birth of my third child. I was homeschooling a kindergartener, potty training a toddler and nursing a baby. Suddenly it seemed imperative I find something to anchor myself before I was gobbled up by the needs of the people I loved.

2. What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it?

My first completed novel was titled Bequeathed. I tried desperately to find an agent and failed. In hindsight, this was to be expected because I knew nothing about writing or the industry. My poor writing was a wee baby in a messy diaper. I didn’t know that then, so I was wholly rejected and sometimes ignored. That’s okay. That’s the business. Publishing’s a marathon, not a sprint. Plus, I learned a lot by failing.

3. How many rejections have you received?

Hundreds. Maybe more. I continue to be rejected on projects, but it doesn’t stop me and I keep writing. Once you’re published, the rejections still come, but this time in the form of readers and reviewers instead of agents and publishing houses. This is why it’s imperative we write because it brings us joy. If we write because we love to write, the rejections stings less. Hey, If I wrote to please the world, I’d be adding whisky to my morning coffee by now.

4. Describe your book.

My March release, Murder Comes Ashore, is the sequel to my October release, Murder by the Seaside. There are three books coming in the series I created for Carina Press and these books are fun, fast paced tales of an amateur sleuth solving murders in her small island town.

5. What three things would you want with you on a desert island?

Hey, all I need is WiFi, my laptop and a working outlet. I’m a simple girl.

6. Who is your greatest cheerleader?

You know, this is a really tough question because I’m cocooned in a circle of people who root for me. My husband and children love my perseverance and enthusiasm for writing. My parents and inlaws and church family are amazingly supportive of everything I do. I have an online community of authors and writers who share their stories with me and keep me moving forward when I want to quit forever. My beta readers and critique partners are priceless. Also, my agent, Dawn Dowdle is always on my side, always calling to soften the blows and telling me I can do anything. She keeps my chin up when it falls. In the area of cheerleaders, I have been greatly blessed.

7. What is the one thing your hero would do that you wouldn’t?

My hero is amazingly stubborn and endlessly curious. I’m curious, too, but I’m also a chicken little. I avoid any and all questionable circumstances from empty parking lots to stray dogs. She, on the other hand, runs headlong into just about anything to get the answers she craves. I love that about her. I’d sit still and say “Hmm, I wonder if…” whereas my heroine would already be on her way to find out.

8. What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

The laughs. Murder Comes Ashore is a cozy mystery that skirts the edges of the genre a bit. The pace is quick and the romance is swoony and there are lots of fun interactions with my heroine and everyone else. I had a great time thinking of witty lines to prompt smiles in readers. The laughs were my favorite part.

9. Where do you write?

I write on my couch, sitting criss-cross-applesauce with my laptop on my legs. I have a really cool personal office, but the couch is central to my chaos, er, life, so I try to hang with the family when I work.

10. What was your favorite scene to write?

My favorite scene in this book is when my heroine, Patience, is told she can’t go on the beach because it’s a crime scene, so she gets a canoe and takes another route- through the harbor to the beach. There, she sees some seagulls fighting over something she believes to be another body part washed ashore and fights the birds for it. Chaos abounds as she’s spotted. Birders flock to the scene warning her not to harm the gulls. The Sheriff intervenes. In the end she gets the body part away from the birds and announces “Our victim was NOT a woman.”.

Author

Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. She’s a self-proclaimed nerd with a penchant for words and proclivity for fun. Julie lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three small children. Today, she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world.

Book Blurb

Patience Price is just settling into her new life as resident counselor on Chincoteague Island when things take a sudden turn for the worse. A collection of body parts have washed up on shore and suddenly nothing feels safe on the quaint island. Patience instinctively turns to current crush and FBI special agent Sebastian for help, but former flame Adrian is also on the case, hoping that solving the grisly crime will land him a win in the upcoming mayoral election.

When the body count rises and Patience's parents are brought in as suspects, Patience is spurred to begin her own investigation. It's not long before she starts receiving terrifying threats from the killer, and though she's determined to clear her family's name, it seems the closer Patience gets to finding answers, the closer she comes to being the killer's next victim

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