Interview with Cozy Author Allison Brook
Welcome to Help from My Friends Friday. A while back I invited Marilyn Levinson to be my guest on HFMFF. Marilyn’s chosen genres include Young Adult Horror and Romantic Suspense. Imagine my surprise when Marilyn passed on my invitation and sent me Allison Brook, her Cozy alter ego, instead. How did I handle that? Read the book, of course. Please welcome Allison Brook who writes for Crooked Lane Books in her Haunted Library series. ~ Donnell
Author Allison Brook
Donnell: Welcome, Allison. I worried when I began Death on the Shelf that I would be lost in the middle of a series, character and plot-wise. Just so you know, and for readers’ sake, I caught up easily. I believe Death on the Shelf is book five in the series; is that correct?
Allison Brook: Yes, it is. Carrie Singleton, my sleuth, and her friends and relatives have had many adventures in books one to four, but while there is a line of continuing developments running through the series, a reader can pick up any of the five books and enjoy it as a standalone. Of course reading bits about past mysteries may very well pique a reader’s interest, enough to send him/her looking for the earlier books in the series.
Donnell: You clearly have a passion for writing. Do you write one genre at a time, devote a specific time to each contracted work? How do you keep them all straight? What is your favorite genre to write? Then, let’s turn this, what is your favorite genre to read?
Allison Brook: If I had to select one genre it would be mysteries. I read them, I listen to them, and I write them. Of course I enjoy other types of fiction as well. While I read and listen to a few books simultaneously I cannot write more than one book at a time. I started out writing novels for kids and I still enjoy that, but right now my main concentration is writing cozy mysteries.
Donnell: Allison Brook has created protagonist Carrie Singleton. I grasped immediately that life has been hard for Carrie until she settled in Clover Ridge, Connecticut and went to work for the library as the head of its programs and events. Carrie is intensely likeable, but she can’t say no very well. Do you agree with my analysis? I believe she must have had considerable character growth in this series. True/False?
Allison Brook: One of the reasons why I love writing this series is because each investigation and experience helps Carrie to grow and to overcome the effects of her dysfunctional childhood. Over the course of the series Carrie makes friendships and develops a mature romantic relationship. Her relationships with each of her parents improves. That’s not to say she doesn’t have concerns which she has to confront if she wants to have a fulfilling life. Carrie has developed a reputation for solving murder cases, and when someone like her best friend’s mother asks her to investigate a murder in the family Carrie feels obliged to say yes. Carrie also finds it hard to say no to requests that Evelyn Havers, the ghost, occasionally throws her way. Carrie’s very fond of Evelyn.
Donnell: In Death on the Shelf, Carrie is an amateur sleuth in a relationship with a private detective and friends with the police lieutenant. I thought, well, that’s convenient. However, I learned when Carrie (not saying no again) agrees to investigate a murder, she’s very resourceful on her own. Do you outline your suspects and red herrings, or do you let the plot unfold and surprise you?
Allison Brook: I do both. One of my favorite principles of mystery writing is that every character has a secret that may or may not be relevant to the murder. Carrie is very good at unearthing these secrets. Of course, Evelyn is a big help here because she used to work in the library and she knows many of the people involved. Also, Carrie is not above asking Dylan’s Gal Friday for help. Rosalind is a whiz at unearthing people who don’t want to be found.
Donnell: The Haunted Library series has classic elements of a cozy. It also has paranormal elements. I’m noting paranormal springing up in cozy mysteries, however, this series has been in existence for a while. Do you believe you were one of the first authors who brought the sub-genre to the forefront? Tell readers about Evelyn. And toward the end of the story, you introduce a character name Tacey. I had to draw some conclusions about Tacey. Can you talk about your paranormal elements?
Allison Brook: I’ve included a paranormal element in novels I wrote years ago, so I may very well have helped bring this sub-genre to the forefront. Bringing Evelyn into the series seemed natural to me. Evelyn is a woman in her mid-sixties who lived all of her life in Clover Ridge. Carrie discovers that she and her little cousin Tacey are the only people that can see and communicate with Evelyn. For years, Evelyn’s death was thought to have been an accident, but in one of the earlier books we learn more about this so-called accident. Evelyn always evades answering Carrie when she asks such questions as “where do you keep your lovely clothes?” and “who styles you hair?” However, Evelyn has told Carrie she appears in the library—and to Carrie in particular—in order to see that certain matters are taken care of.
Donnell: A cozy wouldn’t be a cozy without a beloved pet. Carrie has a cat named Smoky Joe. Smoky Joe is one lucky feline who goes everywhere with Carrie, including the library. I have to ask: Have none of the patrons ever complained about allergies? ? I sense that Smokey Joe is a rescue cat. Am I close?
Allison Brook: Smoky Joe is one lucky cat. He appeared one morning from the farm on the other side of the woods as Carrie was about to drive to work. He jumped into her car and when she got to the library had no choice but to bring him inside. Smoky Joe proved to be very social. He seems to always know who to approach and who to avoid if a patron has allergies. In Read and Gone he helps solve a mystery.
Donnell: You do a great job weaving in plot lines and connecting threads whether they be characters or an event. Carrie has a big heart and takes on a request from Evelyn to find her long-lost brother and resolving why the ghost was so interested in finding him. Carrie locates Michelle the brother’s daughter and that thread ties into the murder Carrie is investigating. Was that part of your plan in the beginning or did that fall into place while you were writing?
Allison Brook: It fell into place. I often take two seemingly unconnected storylines and bring them together.
Donnell: Family, friendship, romance, abandonment issues, poisons, medical fraud, and plenty of food make up this story. I got hungry just reading and had a sudden craving for lobster. I don’t want to give too much away. Let’s just say I enjoyed Death on the Shelf and understand why this has been a long-running series. What comes next? Will Carrie and Dylan say, “I do.” Will Carrie join City Council? How many more books are planned in this series?
Allison Brook: ‘Tis a mystery as to how long the series will continue. I have finished DEWEY DECIMATED, the next book in the series, and it’s tentatively scheduled to be published in September, 2022. Yes, Carrie joins the city council and the library’s new addition brings mystery and adventure . . . and murder.
Donnell: Please list the books in the Haunted Library series and do you think readers should start at the beginning of the series to enjoy the storyline fully?
Allison Brook: I’d recommend starting with book number one, which is DEATH OVERDUE. Following that is READ AND GONE, BURIED IN THE STACKS, and CHECKED OUT FOR MURDER.
Thanks for being my guest, Allison.
Thanks for having me, Donnell. It’s been a delight!
About the Book:
Librarian Carrie Singleton sleuths a murder at her best friend’s wedding in Agatha Award nominee Allison Brook’s fifth Haunted Library mystery.
Clover Ridge librarian Carrie Singleton is thrilled to attend her best friend Angela’s wedding, but Angela’s family can be a bit…much. Angela’s wealthy cousin Donna hosts an extravagant bridal shower at her resplendent home, but the celebrations turn to gossip as the guests notice Donna’s surgeon husband, Aiden, spending a bit too much time with Donna’s cousin Roxy. At the wedding reception, the sweet occasion turns darkly bitter when Aiden topples into the chocolate fountain–dead.
The suspect list is as long as the guest list, and as difficult to sort out as the seating chart. A few of the top contenders on Carrie’s suspect list are the flirtatious Roxy, emotionally unstable since her recent divorce; Angela’s grouchy brother, who feels Aiden betrayed him; and Roxy’s scorned ex-husband. Even Donna may have had reason to want her husband dead. And Aiden’s gossipy office manager has plenty to say about them all.
Then another member of Angela’s family is murdered, making Carrie more determined than ever to find the killer. Can library ghost Evelyn and library cat Smoky Joe help Carrie solve the murders before she becomes the next of Angela’s wedding guests to head to the grave?
DEATH ON THE SHELF—https://bit.ly/36OkDrG
website and contact info: http://www.marilynlevinson.com
Donnell,
Thank you for having me as your guest! You ask great questions.
Marilyn aka Allison, my absolute pleasure. Wishing you great success with Death on the Shelf!
Lovely to learn about your book, Marilyn aka Allison. Happy weekend!
Loved this interview! I have read the first installments of this series and am looking forward to reading this one.
Donnell,
Thank you for your good wishes!
Vicki, Thanks for stoppig by.
Pat, So glad you’re enjoying the series.
Happy Weekend, Everyone!!
I loved this interview and I know I’ll love this series. Always looking for a new one. Marilyn/Allison, I had to respond because felt quite connected to you as I read this – and not in a creepy way, I promise. You see, I too began my career writing for children, before graduating to YA – which won awards in the paranormal sector. They too featured ghosts. Crazy coincidences that don’t stop there because now I too write cozies – which if I’m honest, have always been my favourite genre right from when I was a teen myself a gazillion years ago. So,gosh, I can’t believe, despite being hemispheres apart, how paralleled our careers have been. Okay, gushing over. I’m off to check out your series. Thank you Donnell. Great interview.