Please welcome Laura Wharton author of In Julia's Garden.
Laura Wharton will be awarding a copy of In Julia's Garden (U.S.) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
In Julia's Garden
by Laura Wharton
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GENRE: Mystery
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INTERVIEW:
1. What or who inspired you to start writing?
I have always loved telling stories—my parents would agree. From a very early age, I told stories about a variety of subjects to just about anyone who would listen. Since I’m not shy, that was always fun for me. Writing the stories down was just a natural progression for me. Also, writing is cathartic at times: if I’ve got something on my mind, writing is a good way to really analyze the full subject matter.
2. What elements are necessary components for this genre?
In Julia’s Garden is a mystery. For the genre as a whole, there has to be motive, opportunity, and means. For any genre, the protagonist should have some kind of a secret: a past that threatens to resurface, a desire that has to be dealt with (positively or negatively), etc. In my novel, Julia (a socialite from the 1940s whose journal surfaces in a contemporary setting) did something horrible, and the result for her was devastating. For Lily, the modern-day protagonist, her “secret” is how she deals (or doesn’t) with a past relationship that is impeding her current situation.
3. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?
Oh, that’s a great question. I read a small article about the grand plans for renovating a historic mansion in Columbia, South Carolina. The house itself had undergone major restorations, but the gardens were in horrible shape. The article sited plans to renovate the garden in phases, and hoped to entice readers to donate money for the cause. Fortunately for me, there was a fabulous website with extensive plans for the garden’s restoration, so I took a road to see the property. I was so dismayed. What was formerly a fabulous garden was not much to look at, truthfully; but I loved the setting, and started asking my favorite question, “What if?” What if this was once the home of a young woman who did something that set her world on end, and what if in the modern day the historic preservation commission approached a landscape architect for help in the gardens restoration? Now I have two characters, two storylines, and the need for a way to weave the two together. In the book, the mystery is set in history (1940s), yet the landscape architect has her own set of problems. What if she found answers to both the disappearance of Julia as well as her issues in Julia’s garden? And this is how a story starts for me.
4. What expertise did you bring to your writing?
As a career writer, my stories have taken many forms including magazine articles, advertising copy, website content, and more recently, technical documentation. Moving toward novels was something I wanted to try, and it’s been a lot of fun for me. I have an undergraduate degree in Journalism and a Master’s degree in Communications as well as a technical writing certificate, so I guess you could say writing is my vocation as well as my passion.
5. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?
All of my novels have at least one scene on a sailboat. My bio says I’m a recovering sailor who could backslide at any moment, and that’s definitely true. What the bio doesn’t say is that I have enough “sea time” to qualify as a captain, though I never sat for the exam. I also used to race sailboats for fun. For me, writing scenes with boats is my way to stay connected to another passion of mine, which I plan to resume (backslide into) in the very near future, though I will probably become a lake sailor due to our current location.
6. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
For some odd reason, I started two series at the same time. In Julia’s Garden is the first in the Lily McGuire Mystery series. The other one is Deceived, a fast-paced adrenalin rush of a detective story and the first in the Sam McClellan Tales which was released in May 2015. My plan is to continue both series at the same time, putting out at least two books a year. The second of the Sam McClellan Tales is going to be released in spring 2016, and the next Lily McGuire Mystery will be out in fall 2016. And just for fun, the third in my children’s mystery series, The Mystery at the Lake House series, will be out summer 2016.
7. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?
Lily, of course. She’s snarky (um, like me), sassy, and sometimes speaks without processing thoughts through the filter commonly referred to as a brain. She’s growing, though, and learning to let go of hurt. She is like a flower, about to burst open.
9. Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?
I don’t belong to a critiquing group primarily because I don’t have much extra time. If I’m not working my fulltime job or tending to my family (or sleeping), I’m writing. I get up early in the morning to write before work, so there’s just not enough time to sit down with others to critique work. I do, however, have a fantastic editor to work with on each of my books. I wouldn’t let one go without his stamp of approval. We tend to work on a story back and forth over the course of a month before it heads off to the designer. His insight, questions, and concerns are amazing, and I guess that’s what a writer would get if she were in a critiquing group.
10. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?
When I was in the third grade, my teacher was trying to correct the way I held my fat pencil. She noticed I had a huge (even back then) callous on my middle finger—probably the result of holding the pencil incorrectly. She said, “Oh look, Laura, you’re going to be a writer!” I answered, “Of course I am!” I knew from the age of eight that I wanted to write books. It just took a while to get to the point when I felt I was ready. My first book, The Pirate’s Bastard, took six years to research and write before the age of computers, and another six years to find a publisher. After that was over, I considered it an exercise in completion. I thought I’d never do it again. But soon after, ideas started popping up everywhere, and I had to take the plunge again. I don’t regret a second of it, either.
13. How do you maintain your creativity?
I maintain my creativity by being involved in lots of fun activities. I love to draw and paint, I love attending theatre events and musical performances, and I love to stay active. I read, of course, and I allow myself to daydream as often as possible. From the daydreams spring ideas for stories, art, or activities I’d like to try. I love to surround myself with creative people as often as possible by attending arts and craft fairs, too. It’s amazingly easy to tap into creativity, even if I’m not the one being creative (e.g., writing) at that very moment. Staying open to creativity is definitely vital for storytelling, and since we can get ideas anywhere, these are all good ways to keep that vein open and the ideas flowing.
Thanks, the Angels
BLURB:
Lily McGuire has her
plants and her work as a landscape architect. What she doesn’t have (a man to
date or an adventure to have) is just fine with her, thank you very much. Yet
her world turns as chaotic as the grand old mansion’s garden she is restoring
when a stranger presents her with the gardening journal of a 1940s
socialite-gone-missing. Snarky and somewhat misanthropic, Lily must search its
pages for clues to the young beauty’s disappearance and a potentially deadly
mystery, despite the warning that she should tread carefully: the journal was
the cause of Lily’s best friend’s death.
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EXCERPT:
“Why did you use the word,
‘kill’?”
“Huh?” Jack leaned forward
and put his arms on my desk.
“You said you didn’t think
there was anything in here worth killing for. Macy wasn’t killed, Jack. She
died of a heart attack, according to Dr. Tesh. Mr. Evans used the word,
‘die’…you are the only one who used the word, ‘kill.’ Why?”
“Didn’t you know? Julia
Norton vanished. Her disappearance was never solved, and she was presumed dead.
I got curious and perhaps a little nervous for you when I thought you might
have something that could have led to Julia’s disappearance and possibly to
Macy’s death. As I said, though, I didn’t find anything mysterious or
titillating in there.” Jack pushed himself out of the chair and walked to the
door.
“Jack, how do you know Julia
Norton went missing?”
“I researched it online,” he
responded, pointing at my computer. “It’s all there: archived newspaper stories
and a page or two from a magazine featuring a socialite’s column about her.
That’s what I was doing this morning. I was researching. Seems Julia was a
popular young lady. Very popular. She came from a good family whose fortunes
dwindled during the Great Depression. When the war began, her family did what
it could for the war effort, and her father was rewarded handsomely by the city
of Columbia for his ability to put people back to work making parts for
airplanes. As the war came to a close, the family’s finances stabilized, but
Julia went into a tailspin over something. One article said she began turning
down invitations to big parties after the boys came home. Another reported that
rumors about a secret marriage made her go into hiding. Anyway, there wasn’t
anything about that in the journal. Just notes about parties when she was
young, plants she liked…stuff like that was in the pages that I did manage to
get through. Like I said, I couldn’t keep my eyes open for the whole thing.”
Jack stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. “I don’t think there’s
anything to worry about, Lily. Anyway, I’ve got your back, just in case.”
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Referred
to as the American P.D. James, Laura S. Wharton is the author of sea
adventure/suspense/mystery novels for adults and mysteries for children.
Award-winning adult titles include Deceived: A Sam McClellan Tale, The
Pirate's Bastard, and Leaving Lukens. Wharton also is the author of
four mysteries for children, including the popular award-winning Mystery at
the Lake House series, and others. Most of her books involve adventure,
fun, a little history, and sailboats. (She is a recovering sailor who could backslide
at any moment!)
Links:
The book will be .99 during the tour.
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Laura
Wharton will be awarding a copy of In Julia's Garden (U.S.) to a randomly drawn
winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
