Monday, March 12, 2012

Nancy Lauzon interviews Darcy MacDonald

Author Nancy Lauzon is my guest this week.
Nancy Lauzon's Blog Tour Stop #7: Character Interview - Darcy MacDonald
My latest mystery novel, A Few Dead Men, was inspired by my youngest daughter's disastrous dating history. The 'dead men' in the novel are composites of every boyfriend and/or bad date my daughter ever had. Believe me, I had lots of material to choose from. In fact, I didn't have room for all the 'dead men', since I didn't want to go over my word count.
This book raises several questions: Who exactly are dead men, metaphorically speaking? How did they become dead? Are there more dead men than live men? If not, where do you find live men?
But the book is also about a young woman compelled to solve the mysteries around her, like her favourite amateur sleuth, Nancy Drew. She doesn't go about it in exactly the same way.
Previous stops on the Blog Tour: Where Do You Find Live Men? at http://lenahillbrand.blogspot.com/  and Nancy Drew with a Twist of Lemon at http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com
N: A Few Dead Men is filled with some pretty cool characters, so today I'd like to welcome the heroine of A Few Dead Men, Darcy MacDonald, to the guest blog. Thanks for being here, Darcy.
D: No problem. It's not like I had a choice. I do whatever you tell me to do, right? You're the writer, I'm just one of your characters. Hey, I'm totally kidding. It's nice to be here.
N: Let me start by saying I'm sorry I put you through all that ... stuff ... that happened in the book. But that's the way it is in mystery fiction. Readers love to read about people with problems.
D: Then your readers will LOVE me.
N: Yes, they will. Why don't you start by telling them a little bit about yourself?
D: I'm 29 years old, and I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the east coast. I'm an administrative assistant at Bloodhound Investigations, a private investigation firm. I'm also a part-time mystery writer, and I recently earned a certificate from The Canadian Spy Institute, as part of my research.
N: Which of your character traits is most important to you, and why?
D: I guess my tenacity. I don't give up easily. And my sense of humour. That helped keep me sane when everything around me fell apart.
N: What's your biggest fault?
D: Where do I start? I think too much, and worry too much. I wish you'd made me a little less anxious. What was with those panic attacks?
N: They're part of who you are. They allowed me to show the reader that you're vulnerable, and human.
D: Uh huh. But I wish I didn't come off as so naive.
N: Not naive. Trusting. You have a big heart, and it gets you into trouble sometimes.
D: Sometimes? I was up to my eyebrows in trouble.
N: Moving on ... describe your perfect day.
D: Let's see - spending the whole day working on my novel. Then dinner and drinks with Giovanna, my best friend. Then I'd wrap it up by watching a late movie starring Colin Firth.
N: Last question, Darce. What was your favourite part in the book?
D: Walking the beach with--
N: Stop right there. We don't want to give too much away. Thanks, Darcy!
A Few Dead Men - A Chick Dick Mystery
Life has dealt part-time mystery novelist Darcy MacDonald a lousy hand. The men she knows are either missing, dead, drunk or demented.
Lying next to the corpse of her boyfriend, the head of Bloodhound Investigations, definitely qualifies as lousy since he’s the man who also issues her paychecks.
The doctor says her boss had a massive heart attack during an orgasm, and it wasn’t Darcy’s fault. But she can’t help feeling guilty, since his orgasms were her responsibility. Or so she believed, until his grieving widow shows up, along with a mysterious, punk rocker chick who weeps inconsolably at the funeral and claims he was murdered.
Next stops on my Blog Tour:
Thursday, March 15th - The Stiletto Gang
I'm visiting a fun group of women writers on a mission to bring mystery, humor, romance, and high heels to the world. I'll be conducting my 2nd Character Interview, featuring Giovanna Pescateli, the heroine's best friend.
Wednesday, March 21 - Whimsy and Writing
I'll be guest blogging on Angela Scott's site. Angela writes contemporary YA fiction. She has a brand new Zombie Western coming out this month called Wanted: Dead or Undead. (I'll be hosting her Book Shower next week.) I'll be conducting my 3rd Character Interview, featuring Eunice MacDonald, the heroine's mother. 
A Few Dead Men - a Chick Dick Mystery is available at the following online retailers:

Author Bio
Nancy Lauzon worked nine years on a hospital ward as a cardiac nurse before the night shifts turned her into a zombie. She got a day job in health promotion and began to write health-related articles for magazines and newsletters.

Life threw out a few curve balls, and to relieve the stress, she began to write fiction part-time. Five years later she sold two different manuscripts to two separate small-press publishers, using a pseudonym. She left nursing in 2003 and began to write full-time.

Nancy lives in Ottawa, Canada.
Join the Chick Dick Mystery Group on Facebook
Follow her on Twitter
Friend her on Goodreads

6 comments:

Polly Iyer said...

Nancy, I love your humor. The fact that your character has little choice because she's at your command cracked me up. Best of luck. Sounds like a great read.

Ellis Vidler said...

Nancy, thanks for being here today. I'm reading The Haunting of Hayley and my sister's reading The Good, The Bad, and The Hair. We're both enjoying them. Looking forward to the new one--Darcy sounds fun.

Selena Robins said...

Loved the character interview. Well done!

A FEW DEAD MEN along with all the other books in the Chick Dick Mystery Series are fantastic reads. I highly recommend them.

Donnell Ann Bell said...

Wait, wait. I gotta know what comes after walking on the beach! :) Great interview! Thanks, Ellis, for bringing us this fabulous author!

Nancy Lauzon said...

Hey Polly, Ellis, Selena and Donnell,

Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. I really appreciate it!

Nancy :)

jenny milchman said...

What perfect inspiration for a novel!