Author Bio:
Duffy Brown loves anything with a mystery. While others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. She is a National Bestselling author and conjures up who-done-it stories of her very own for Berkley Prime Crime. She has two series the Consignment Shop Mysteries set in Savannah along with rescue pup Bruce Willis and the Cycle Path Mysteries set on Mackinac Island with judgmental cats Cleveland and Bambino.
What inspires you to write?
What inspires me most to write are the readers who want to know when then next book is coming out, characters who run around in my head yelling…Hey, you, I got a story tell here so quite messing around and get to work, places I visit and think Gee this would be a great place to hid a body. Even restaurants inspire me…What could be in this soup that could kill me. Or maybe it’s someone at the consignment shop I work in for real and I think…You are a total pain, guess who’s getting killed off in my next book. YOU!
Tell us about your writing process.
I’m a plotter with a big dose of panther along for the ride. I use a big pad of drawing paper, mark out 21 chapters and then start filling them in with beginning, end, middle action, dark moment, turning points etc. Then I write out each chapter before I start so I know what’s going on and guess what… The story I end up with is not much like the story I started out with but the ending is usually the same. How I get to the ending is way different and funnier. Thank heavens!
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
When the characters talk to me it’s always the best. Its like being in a movie and they act out the scenes and the dialogue. What fun. Most of the time it’s me inventing the characters and the situation. The best is when they crack jokes or do things I never expected…and they really do all those things. The book and the characters do take on a life of their own and IMO that’s the magic and what makes the book believable.
Who are your favorite authors?
Janet Evanovich is my hero. I simply love her Stephanie Plum books. I think she’s up to 21 in her series now and all are good but the first three…One for the Money, Two for the Dough and Three to Get Deadly are magic. They are funny and exciting and the characters are a hoot and unusual with tons of personality that make them real. After reading a S. Plum book you will want to become a bounty hunter and live in Jersey just for the fun of it all.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I am with Penguin, a NYC publisher. That is my dream. Self-pub is wonderful, profitable, and you are your own boss but for me it’s being with a NYC publisher. Penguin has fab editors, amazing covers and incredible distribution. That works for me. It gives me time to concentrate on the writing part of being an author.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I just keep writing my books and try not to worry about the business side. Whatever comes I will write cozy mysteries and get them to my readers. The readers are the very best part of writing books and as long as they read and have fun with me and my characters and story lines I’ll be around. Writers write. I cannot imagine a life where I’m not telling my friends stories that make us laugh.
What genres do you write?
cozy mystery
What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print
Website(s)
Duffy Brown Home Page Link
Link To Duffy Brown Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Facebook
Great interview. Interesting to learn about your 21 blocks mock-up process. Wonder if that would work for me —
a 90% pants-ter.
Really enjoyed this interview, Duffy. Your answers are clear, concise, and informative. Love Mackinaw Island, Janet Ivanovich, and YOU!