A Sour Note
Get a behind-the-scenes all-access pass to Jill Piscitello's A Sour Note, book one of A Music Box Mystery!
***Synopsis***
On the heels of a public, broken engagement, Maeve Cleary returns to her childhood home in Hampton Beach, NH. When a dead body turns up behind her mother’s music school, three old friends land on the suspect list. Licking her wounds soon takes a back seat to outrunning the paparazzi who spin into a frenzy, casting her in a cloud of suspicion. Maeve juggles her high school sweetheart, a cousin with a touch of clairvoyance, a no-nonsense detective, and an apologetic, two-timing ex-fiancé. Will the negative publicity impact business at the Music Box— the very place she’d hoped to make a fresh start?
What is the sub-genre and trope? Did your characters lead you to this genre or was that decided before the story began?
A Sour Note is a cozy mystery. I am a longtime fan of the genre and planned to write a new mystery series years before the characters introduced themselves.
Are you more character or plot driven?
It depends on the moment. Character voices and plot ideas arise at varying intervals when writing.
With many main and secondary characters, how do you keep them separated in your mind? Do you have a story/vision board above your workspace?
Secondary characters often demand to be featured front and center. I keep an outline of events and characters in a folder. However, the outline is always in a state of revision.
I know from previous interviews that characters take on a life of their own. Were any of the characters in this series determined to take their own direction instead of where you initially wanted them to go?
Maeve’s cousin Calista wanted to be the star of the show. She will have a much larger role in the next book and may even convince me to write a spin-off novel featuring the trials and tribulations of a clairvoyant florist.
Are any of the male POVs based on anyone you know?
No.
Are any of the female POVs based on anyone you know?
No. However, I am a chronic nail polish picker much like my sleuth Maeve.
Was there any one character/scene that was harder to write about than the other?
Writing about Detective Taylor posed a challenge. Cozy mysteries revolve around amateur sleuths trailing suspects and solving case after case either before or in conjunction with the police.
I wanted to strike a balance between showcasing Maeve’s talents while also respecting the role of the police department in murder investigations.
I know that we aren’t supposed to have “favorites” as far as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite character and why?
This question is a hard one! I suppose I’d have to say Maeve is my favorite. She’s a risk taker. In many cases, those risks don’t pan out in her favor. But every time she falls, she gets back up. She’s not above leaving the house make-up free with her hair in disarray and wearing passably clean clothing. Maeve is unapologetically true to herself.
Series question - Who is your favorite couple and why did you decide on their dynamics?
A Sour Note is the first in the series, so I’ll save this question for the next installment.
How do you get inside these characters’ heads to find their perfect HEA?
Maeve is healing from a widely publicized break-up and is still making her way toward a happily ever after. Little by little she dares to open her heart to the possibility of allowing romance into her life again.
What scene in this book/series sticks out the most for you? Why?
At the end of the book, we see Maeve with her family and friends celebrating July 4th at Hampton Beach. The festivities brought to mind many memories of Children’s Week in Hampton, including the activities, crowds, food, and music.
I hope those pages give readers a glimmer of the enjoyment the location has to offer.
How long did it take you to write this book/series?
The first draft took about one year to complete. The formal editing process spanned approximately eight months.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
Cozy mystery titles usually involve a play on words. I knew The Music Box would play a large role in the setting of the series and wanted a fun title to reflect the storyline.
If you met these characters in real life would you get along?
I make an effort to get along with everyone. However, I’d have much more in common with Maeve’s mother Jules. Impulsivity is not my thing. I’m a planner to my core.
Series question – Did you know in advance that you were going to write this as a series or did one of the characters in book one demand their own story?
A Sour Note is the first installment in The Music Box Series.
One of the main reasons I love the cozy mystery genre is how well it lends itself to a lengthy series. Who doesn’t love a feel-good story with delightfully flawed characters to return to over and over again?
If your book/series were made into a movie, which actors do you see as playing your characters?
A Sour Note is similar to the mysteries seen on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries or the Great American Family network.
I’d love to see Jenn Lilley or Lacey Chabert in the role of Maeve. They are both far prettier than I imagine Maeve, but that’s to be expected on these channels.
Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect next? Whether a new book and series or a sequel to an existing series? Can you share a small tease?
The second book in The Music Box Mystery Series is set during the fall season. Hampton, NH is a beach town, yet I’m excited to follow these characters outside the tourist season.
Check out all my interviews/reviews for Jill Piscitello!
https://readingbydeb.blogspot.com/2023/07/author-at-glance-jill-piscitello.html
A native of New England, Jill lives with her family and three well-loved cats. When not planning
lessons or reading and writing, she can be found spending time with her family, trying out new restaurants, traveling, and going on light hikes.
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EXCERPT:
With his mouth set in a grim line, he waited.
If anyone else had enough nerve to presume she owed them an explanation, she would respond with a solid mind your own business. Instead, the seventeen-year-old still inside her refused to tell him to get lost. “He was hiding money in his office.” This was one of those times when learning how to wait a few beats before blurting out inflammatory information would come in handy. Each second of passing silence decreased her ability to breathe in the confined space. She turned the ignition and switched on the air conditioner.
“How do you know?” His volume just above a whisper, each dragged-out word hung in the air.
“I found it.”
“When were you in his office?” He swiped at a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face, then positioned a vent toward him.
“Last night.” When would she learn to bite her tongue? Finn’s switch from rapid-fire scolding to slow, deliberate questioning left her unable to swallow over the sandpaper lump in her throat.
“Where was Vic?”
She stared at the back of the building, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. “He’d left for the night.” If she averted her gaze, she could pretend his eyeballs weren’t bugging out of his head, and his jaw didn’t need a crane to haul it off his chest.
“You were at the town hall after hours? Did anyone see you?”
“A custodian opened his door for me.” She snuck a glance. Sure enough, features contorted in shock and horror replaced his boy-next-door good looks.
Thank you so much for today's spotlight! Wishing you a wonderful summer.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Looks like its going to be a hot one! Thanks for sharing your story :)
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