Cynthia Hickey is a fellow Suspense Sister and a publisher as well as a “hybrid” author, both traditionally and independently published. She’s recently released the final book of her “Nosy Neighbors” series, A Good Party Can Kill You, and one lucky person commenting here will win a copy of the first book of her “Nosy Neighbors” series, Anything for a Mystery.
I’m so pleased to have Cynthia visiting Faith Driven Fiction!
First, I so appreciate you sharing your book with me! This story deals with Stormi as a bride-to-be. Since we’re right before Valentine’s Day, what would she consider her perfect date? Matt and Stormi haven’t had a lot of luck with their dates. Because of Stormi’s snooping, every time they let their guard down, something happens!
Ha! That happens in real life,too! I know this book closes out your Nosy Neighbor series. Are you sad to see it go? What unique challenges come with writing a seven book series? It’s sad to leave characters you’ve spent two years with. The challenge in writing seven books was keeping each fresh, original, and quirky. My readers would let me know if I slacked on this.
What would you say was the oddest thing you came across while you wrote this series? The jellyfish I used as a murder weapon in Poison Bubbles. The size of a fingernail, they would be easy to hide in a bubble bath and wash down the drain when done.
If you were to choose another character from your book to be the star of another series, which character would you choose and why? Either Stormi’s mother, Anne or her best friend, Maryann. Both are fun and would add hilarity to a story.
I liked them both, but I could certainly see Maryann taking up where Stormi lets off! What new books or series are on your horizon? What are you most looking forward to about the project? I’m in the process of writing Beware the Orchids, the first in a new cozy series, Shady Acres. The heroine is a gardener and event planner for a retirement community. I’m having a blast writing it.
How do you balance your writing career with the rest of your life? What challenges get in the way of your writing? How do you avoid distractions? What does your day look like? I’m at the stage in my life where I’m home alone during the day. Since I also own a small press, I MUST set working hours. I work five days a week from six a.m. to 2 p.m. and often on the weekends.
I’m a little jealous, though I do love having my girls around me, still. What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t writing? (Alone? With friends? With family?) I love crocheting, hanging out, having coffee, and coloring in adult coloring books with my vibrant gel pens. These are the things that help me relax.
What is something you’ve never done but would love to try? Zip-lining! It’s on my bucket list J
Thanks so much for sharing with us! I’m looking forward to learning more about your new Shady Acres Series. Here’s the short version of A Good Party Can Kill You.
Stormi Nelson and her bridesmaids party hard in New Orleans. The only thing marring the bachelorette party is the appearance of Stormi’s fiancé, Matt’s ex-girlfriend. When Stormi returns home to Arkansas and right into another murder mystery, she’s also the recipient of some not so nice gifts: a voodoo doll and a black cat. Refusing to believe in superstition, Stormi continues to dive headfirst into her latest case and comes across her wackiest suspect list yet.
What she doesn’t expect is the final, life-altering, gift from Matt’s ex-girlfriend. A gift that will change both Stormi’s and Matt’s lives forever.
A Good Party Can Kill You introduces the reader to some fantastic characters and closes out the best-selling Nosy Neighbor series
About the Author:
Multi-published and Amazon Best-Selling author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries and two novellas published through Barbour Publishing. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with a new cozy series, all of which stay in the top 50 of Amazon’s ebooks for their genre. She had several historical romances release in 2013, 2014, 2015 through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents, and has sold half a million copies of her works. She has taught a Continuing Education class at the 2015 American Christian Fiction Writers conference. She is active on FB, twitter, and Goodreads, and is a contributor to Cozy Mystery Magazine blog and Suspense Sisters blog. Her and her husband run the small press, Forget Me Not Romances, which includes some of the CBA’s well-known authors. She lives in Arizona with her husband, one of their seven children, two dogs and one cat. She has seven grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”. Visit her website at http://www.cynthiahickey.com
Your Turn: One comment-leaver (who leaves their email address) will receive an E-copy of Anything for a Mystery. And tell me about the last time you were stumped by a cozy mystery!
Marji Laine 