An Interview with Author Christin Brecher By E. B. Davis

 

While some people escape into books or music, Liv Spyers escapes through her camera’s lens, which inspires her to jump into things she might otherwise have no business tackling—like moving to New York City. Hustling to make her dreams come true as a portrait photographer, she runs a pocket-sized studio below her grandparents’ West Village brownstone and key shop, where she also lives and works part-time. All of which still has her down to the end of her savings as the holidays approach. Everything changes in a flash, however, when elite events photographer, Regina Montague, invites Liv to shoot with her at New York City’s most exclusive socialite event of the year—the Holiday Debutante Ball!
 
Liv snaps at the opportunity, convinced that a job with Regina will launch her career. But when her fabulous new gig ends with the murder of billionaire Charlie Archibald, her dream job may never develop with Regina framed for murder. Once Liv begins to focus on her photos from the ball, she’s convinced they reveal Charlie Archibald’s real killer. Now, between cracking the world of high society—and the attentions of a handsome stranger—Liv must hustle once again to expose the killer . . . before she gets cropped from the picture!

Amazon.com

 

Photo Finished is the first book in Christin Brecher’s new Snapshot of NYC Mystery series. And a delightful start it is. Main character Liv Spyers, an up and coming NYC photographer entrepreneur, has a unique eye for detail, which not only helps her photos, but also gives her an advantage when it comes to solving murders.

 

I first interviewed Christin Brecher three years ago when the first book in her Nantucket Candle Maker mystery series was released. Nantucket was a great place to visit, but NYC has a vibe that helps keep this series real, fresh, and edgy.

 

Please welcome Christin Brecher back to WWK.                                 E. B. Davis

 

Hello to everyone and thank you for having me at Writers Who Kill!

 

You have so many insider details about NYC. Have you lived or do you live there?

I live in NYC in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood. In fact, last week we had a wonderfully cozy book launch party for Photo Finished at Corner Bookstore, which I consider the heart of the neighborhood.

 

Liv and her grandparents have a symbiotic relationship. How do they help each other?

Liv comes from a very tight Italian-American family on her mom’s side. She describes how growing up she would wake to a family member reeling off breakfast options and feeling like the tradeoff of a little privacy for a good meal was a fair one. As an adult now living in her grandparent’s “well-loved” West Village brownstone, I particularly like how the older and younger generations support each other in a big city. Liv has a unique opportunity early in her career to open a photography studio their ground-floor commercial space, while her grandparents have the support of a family member whenever they need it. There’s an old-fashioned family connection at work which also speaks to NYC’s history.

 

What is special about Arthur Avenue?

Ah! A wonderful question. Arthur Avenue is an area in the Bronx which is a haven for Italian food. You can buy the freshest pasta at a shockingly good price and eat at restaurants that rival those in Italy!

 

Liv dropped out of college for financial reasons. What were they?

Liv doesn’t get into details in the book, other than to underline that her academic pursuits meant a lot to her. Unfortunately, life sometimes requires tough decisions. Between the high cost of college, her dreams of pursuing a modest paying photography career that would make it hard to pay off loans, and her desire for her traditional middle-class parents to have the means of raising her little sister without the burden of helping with college tuition, she put her studies on hold.

 

Are there crazies in the NYC subways that riders need to be wary of?

Like any big city, you need to be aware of your surroundings when navigating streets and public transportation. Close to 4 million people ride the NYC subway each day, so there’s no doubt a ride on any line is filled with both the city’s beautiful “melting pot” of citizens and some characters to be wary of.

 

Would Liv agree that there are no coincidences?

Yes and no. When Liv attends the Holiday Debutante Ball and runs into the tuxedo-wearing Harry Fellowes for the second time in one day, she sees their meeting from two different angles. On the one hand, she decides she’s walked into a magical place where these kinds of coincidences happen. On the other, she’s a practical person who acknowledges that if she were to ever see him again, it would be at a gathering like this where people wore tuxedoes as comfortably as pajamas.

 

Why is Liv confused about whether or not someone broke into her locksmith grandparents’ store?

Liv is battling with accepting some changes in her grandfather’s cognitive health and would almost rather believe the store was broken into that anything else. Her Poppy has become quite forgetful of late, and she’s worried about how he handles his key store which her grandparents moved to the first floor of their home.

 

A successful commercial photographer, Regina Montague, hires Liv to help photograph a “coming out” party. Liv assumes that they are revealing alternative sexual identities, but the reality is that it’s an old-fashioned debutante ball. Do people still do that in NYC or elsewhere?

They actually do! I believe they are still held around the country.

 

Elizabeth Everly, event planner, often works the same parties as Regina. Is NYC really a small world?

Yes! NYC is a huge town, knit together by many smaller communities. The bubbles are distinct, but they also overlap in socio-economic, religious, ethnic, artistic, and financial ways.

 

When one of the deb’s fathers, a billionaire fund manager, is murdered, Liv studies the photos to find the murderer. What motivates Liv to get involved?

At first, Liv is motivated to investigate because her new boss, Regina, is quickly targeted as the main suspect and Liv does not believe she committed the crime. Regina gives Liv her first real break as a commercial photographer, and Liv is a very loyal person. She will do anything to help out Regina. As her investigation continues, she is also amazed by how her pictures reveal stories within stories about the people who attended the Holiday Debutante Ball.

 

What is a hedge fund?

A hedge fund is a group of high-risk financial investors, who usually invest with borrowed money, in hopes of realizing large capital gains. Murder victim, Charlie Archibald, has made billions as a hedge fund manager. His expertise is in building financial technology portfolios for investment.

 

Maria Ricci, Liv’s BF, keeps lending Liv clothes for the exclusive events. What does Maria do that she can afford the upper-end clothes?

For starters, Maria is just a little more interested in fashion than Liv, but she also is a paralegal which brings in a better salary than a struggling photographer, at least during these early stages of their careers.

 

Liv catches one “wealthy” guest taking home event leftover food. She assumes that he’s broke. But that isn’t the case. Are some of the wealthy eccentric, cheap, or did he really just love the food?

No matter the wealth, there’s always a cheapie-shmeapy out there, isn’t there? But the food was from a five-star hotel so it’s safe to assume it was delicious too!

 

Does everyone who lives in NYC have a favorite pizza place?

Mine is Marco Polo on 91^st and Madison Avenue 😊

 

Art crime is a seven-billion-dollar industry?

Yup! Who knew? This is the fun of being an author. I research little known facts such as that one!

 

What is a CitiBike? How do they keep them from being stolen?

CitiBikes are popping up in large cities and also on college campuses. Actually, NYC’s service is sponsored by CitiBank which gives the service its perfect name. After downloading an app which shows a user where the closest bike station can be found, users may unlock and relock a bike at different locations. The docking stations ensure they will not be stolen. These days, we even have eBikes which make getting around town a breeze.

 

You write families well—they are real. In one family, their mutual love of their daughter keeps them together at least for a while. In another, the marriage is strong, but their rebelling twins keep them on their toes. In yet another, appearances are everything because there isn’t much money although the love is real. And in Liv’s there are old-age problems and a surprise baby, but they hang together well. Is it all in the details? How do you create families so well that they are remembered and distinct?

 

I loved exploring so many family dynamics in Photo Finished, and I appreciate how they resonated with you. There are many ways to approach a story based in NYC and given the micro-cosmic world in which many of Photo Finished’s suspects live, I found it fun to jump into their family lives and peek into how they all make it work. The theme is also relevant because family is important to Liv. We see the story through her eyes, and these dynamics are the sort of things she would notice.

 

What’s next for Liv?

 

Whereas Liv jumps into the world of high society in Photo Finished, she will next be thrown into the world of celebrity. Once again, NYC is a great setting for larger-than-life people to create trouble only someone with a keen eye and a strong spirit can untangle.

 

 

An Interview with Christin Brecher by E. B. Davis

Murder’s No Votive Confidence

Nantucket candle store owner Stella Wright specializes in creating unique candles for every occasion. But someone sets the stage for murder when a Memorial Day celebration becomes a wedding to die for . . .

Jessica Sterlingʼs candlelight-themed nuptial promises to be the perfect kick-off to the summerʼs first official holiday weekend. Stellaʼs thrilled to have been chosen to provide the decorative centerpiece for the wedding ceremony: a two-foot, tall scented unity candle—a symbol of the happy coupleʼs love. But it looks like the bride-to-beʼs uncle wonʼt be walking his niece down the aisle after heʼs found dead. The murder weapon is Stellaʼs seemingly indestructible candle, now split in two.

When a beloved local bartender is arrested, Stellaʼs sure a visiting police Captain running the case made a rush to justice. With superstitious brides-to-be cancelling orders and sales waxing and waning at her store, the Wick & Flame owner decides to do some sleuthing of her own. Abetted by a charming reporter and challenged by the townʼs sexiest cop, Stellaʼs determined to shine a light on the truth and uncover a killer whoʼs snuffing out her own flame.

http://christinbrecher.com/books/

Islands off the coast of Massachusetts seem to be my theme this month. Murder’s No Votive Confidence is set on Nantucket, an island east of Chappaquiddick. This is Christin Brecher’s debut novel in her Nantucket Candle Maker mystery series. I found it fascinating and had to limit the questions I asked her about the book, the setting, the characters, and how those characters related to one another.

Stella Wright is a native of the island. After college, she returned home and opened a candle shop, the Wick & Flame. Millie Wright, her mother, has a unique nose that makes her a perfume expert, and Stella has inherited that trait, which resulted in having the moniker, The Hound, bestowed on her in seventh grade by Andy Southerland, now a police officer.

When Stella creates a unity candle for a wedding ceremony and finds a member of the wedding party murdered, it isn’t much of a stretch that she noses around to find out whodunnit. And she has many reasons for wanting to do so.

I’m not going to spoil the ending, but it was one of the best culminations of a mystery I’ve read in a long time. Really fun!

Please welcome Christin Brecher to WWK                                                                                                             E. B. Davis

How far is Nantucket from the mainland? How long does it take to get there by ferry? Would you describe the island for our readers?

Nantucket is 30 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.  Sometimes referred to as the Gray Lady because of the fog that often shrouds her, she is small, but mighty! Arriving to the island feels like a step back in time.  Even when the summer traffic is crazy, and the prices are sky high, the charm of the island’s aesthetic is timeless with cobblestones on Main Street, shingled homes, bikes, dogs, and gorgeous beaches.  And the ice cream at the Juice Bar is not to be missed!

When I was a kid, we took a two-hour ferry to get to the island after a five-hour drive from New York City.  It was both torture and magic to spend those hours on the boat.  You realize how far out to sea you are, and once the small island’s skyline comes into view it feels as if you’ve found Brigadoon.  These days there’s a fast ferry that takes an hour, and I confess I take it all the time!  Tons of flights, too.  But if you have the time and patience, a slow ride across the seas is worth it.

What is the historical significance of candles and candle making on Nantucket?

Nantucket became one of the wealthiest communities in America in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries because of its success in the whaling industry.  Nantucketers discovered the value of spermaceti oil, found in the brain cavity of the sperm whales.  This precious oil was used, among other things, to make candles which were considered to be the cleanest, whitest, and longest lasting candles in the world.  Fast Fact:  On a recent visit to Nantucket’s Whaling Museum (right across the street from the Juice Bar!), I learned that at one point the island’s candle industry accounted for one third of its economy, with exports around the world.

Although Stella has many relatives on the island, she doesn’t resemble any of them. Why?

Stella is part of a close-knit family that has lived on the island for generations.  They are easy to spot because of their trademark fair skin and red hair.  Stella, however, stands out from the crowd with her olive complexion and her thick mane of dark, wavy hair. 

Her markedly different appearance relates to a mystery in Stella’s own life – the identity of her father.  Her mother, Millie Wright, was an adventuress in her twenties, travelling the globe in search of unique scents to make perfumes, her passion.  One day, she returned to Nantucket with “a treasure that trumped them all,” Stella.  Although her mother never talks about Stella’s father, Stella has some ideas about her roots.  Perhaps one day, she will set off to solve this mystery, too!

The wedding reception is being held at the Melville Inn. Is the inn based on a real hostelry?

I am too superstitious to set a murder mystery at a place where so many couple actually have their weddings, so you will not find the Melville Inn on Nantucket.  You can, however, find a gorgeous hotel that’s pretty darn close:  The Wauwinet Hotel.  

Jessica Sterling, the bride, asked her late father’s brother, Uncle Simon, to walk her down the aisle since her father died. I was surprised she asked him since it seems the brothers were estranged. Why did she ask him?

Emily tells Stella about the bride’s decision to invite Simon to walk her down the aisle.  A bold choice, it was made by a gal in search of a fairy tale wedding, replete with family and tradition.  Unfortunately, her father and her fiancé’s parents have passed away, so her choices for a family member to stand in are limited, and Uncle Simon wins the honor. Although Simon Sterling seems, at first, to be a thoroughly unlikable character, there’s more to him than meets the eye. 

Uncle Simon had contraband in his room—a cat named Tinker. Tinker always shows up at the right place where a murder clue appears. How does he do that, and does Stella appreciate his pointers, even though she isn’t fond of cats?

Tinker is a savvy dude who knew the victim, Uncle Simon, better than anyone at the wedding.  Although Stella has little experience with cats, and their introduction to each other is less than cordial, she soon realizes that Tinker has one paw up on everyone.  She can’t help but fall for the little guy.

When Uncle Simon is found murdered, the weapon appears to be the unity candle Stella made. Would a candle be strong enough to kill?

A typical taper candle or pillar candle would not be strong enough to kill a man.  Stella’s unity candle, however, is a force.  Designed to be the centerpiece of the Sterling wedding ceremony, it is two feet high, six inches in diameter, and made of a strong, dense wax.  Beautifully decorated to match the bride’s beaded gown, it looks precious.  If someone whacked you across the head with it, however, you wouldn’t stand a chance.

Why did Stella compromise the crime scene?

The crime scene is a mess.  Eight people who have never seen a murdered man find themselves in the inn’s Game Room, beside Uncle Simon.  They are shocked by the violence that has taken place at the peaceful Melville Inn, during the perfectly planned Sterling Wedding weekend.  In a panic, they all make mistakes.  Stella’s is to pick up her unity candle.  Although she quickly realizes her error, her action is a desperate attempt to erase the fact that her beautiful creation was used as a murder weapon.

When the bartender, Bill Duffy, is arrested for the murder, Stella thinks they rushed the arrest and took the expedient suspect. Since she babysat for Bill and his wife, Maude, who also works at the inn, Stella thinks she knows the couple. What does she find out about Bill that makes her break into their house?

As Stella searches for the murderer, she learns that everyone at the Sterling wedding has a secret.  While the revelation of some of these stories has nothing to do with the murder, others lead her closer to the killer.  In spite of her affection for Bill and Maude Duffy, Stella learns that even they have secrets, and she knows she must follow up every lead.  As for what she learns?  I’d tell you, but…

What is FIGAWI?

The Sterling Wedding takes place Memorial Day weekend, which is also the weekend of FIGAWI, the island’s one-of-a-kind annual sailing event.  FIGAWI stands for “where-the-fug-ah-we?”  Now an international event, the race started decades ago as a dare between two friends who got lost en route from the Cape to the island, hence the name! 

As astute as Stella is, she is totally blind when it comes to Andy, especially his reactions to her dating new island journalist, Peter Bailey. Why can’t she see how interested Andy is in her? 

Two words:  Friend Zone.  Andy made the mistake of giving Stella an embarrassing nickname, “The   After a few subsequent pranks back and forth, they settled into a lifelong, but often antagonistic, friendship.  Andy is happily dating a woman named Georgianna when Simon Sterling is killed, while Stella is ready for a new love in Peter Baily after having suffered a heart-breaking disappointment the year before.  While solving Simon Sterling’s murder, however, new feelings, perhaps long-buried feelings, begin to bubble for each of them.  I’m curious to see how these two redefine their friendship now that Stella has discovered her talent for sleuthing.

Hound,” when she sniffed out a gas leak in science class in seventh grade.

Why does Stella take over some of her best friend, Emily Gardner’s duties as an event coordinator for the wedding?

 Emily Gardner is Stella’s other life-long best friend.  Emily is married and expecting her first child’s arrival soon after the Sterling wedding.  Unfortunately, third trimester complications hit her during the weekend event.  Because Stella has been hired to lead the wedding’s candle design and knows the wedding plans so well, Emily leans on her when things get tricky.

Why does the inn have its own boat?

The Melville Inn is a swanky spot, with every amenity to make the guests’ stay special.  The launch is one example.  Since the inn is secluded, but on the harbor, it’s faster to shuttle guests to town via a launch than by car.  On board, they can enjoy the sparkling waters, while reaching town in only minutes

How do you name your characters, which are perfect, BTW?

Thank you!

I have fun naming characters, especially after I’ve spent time with them.  Often the names spring to mind, but Stella Wright was a calculated decision.  Stella means star in Italian, and I just wonder if Millie had that in mind when she named her daughter.  Wright is inspired by the right whales, which launched the island’s famous trade.  These whales used to swim off the shores of Nantucket and were named because they were “the right whale to kill.”

If you are familiar with Nantucket, you will also notice that a couple of names (eg. Gardner) are old island names, but all of the characters are fictional – none of them based on people I know.

Your cover art is enticing. Did you have any input into its creation?

I had no input on the cover, but the designers at Kensington know exactly how to design a cozy mystery, I agree!  My favorite part of the cover is the title image, which is inspired by the quarter board signs which are common on Nantucket.  Best of all, this title design is going to be featured on each book.

What’s next for Stella and her cronies?

You’ll find out on February 25^th, when the Nantucket Candle Maker Mysteries continue with Murder Makes Scents! 

Stella and her globe-trotting mom, Millie come home from a perfume industry conference in Paris, where their trip was marred by witnessing the stabbing death of a young man. It’s a relief for Stella to be back on her picturesque island, with the comforting company of her cat, Tinker. But lingering danger may have followed them back across the ocean.

After someone breaks into her candle store, the Wick & Flame, Stella starts feeling spooked. Their croissants continue to crumble when Millie suffers a blow to the head. Stella receives an anonymous note claiming that her mother smuggled a secret formula out of France—and threatening her life if it isn’t returned. Now Stella’s picked up the scent of a cold-hearted criminal and an intriguing puzzle, and things are about to get wicked.