I forced myself to take a few calming breaths
before I barreled on. Lamaze breathing often comes in handy. Except for the two
occasions when I was in labor.
Cindy Sample
Dying For A Date (Page 86)
When I realized Cindy Sample had a funny mystery series out, I
decided to read the first one, Dying For
A Date, which led to reading Dying
For A Dance and Dying For A Daiquiri. Klutzy main character Laurel McKay, a divorced,
mild-mannered mom and bank-loan officer, solves murders while trying to find a
love life. As a former mortgage company CEO, Cindy has no problem writing the
technical aspects of Laurel’s job.
In 2011, Cindy was
nominated for the Northern California Publishers & Authors Best Fiction
Award, and then became a 2012 and 2014 Lefty Finalist for best humorous mystery.
I’m looking forward to reading Dying For A Dude, due out this fall.
Please welcome Cindy to WWK. E. B.
Davis
You’ve given lots of background detail and
history for Placerville, CA, your setting. Is Placerville real?
Placerville is a real town located in the
gold country east of Sacramento. For a few years during the gold rush, it was
known as Hangtown. It’s the only town I
know of that has a dummy hanging over the spot where the original Hangman’s
tree was located.
When Laurel meets hunky Detective Hunter and
his daughter, Kristy, her first impression isn’t entirely positive. Do you
think first impressions count?
First impressions are important, but
sometimes second impressions are even more important!
Are you a klutz like Laurel?
A couple of male readers have commented on
Laurel’s klutziness, which isn’t even close to my own. If we had more time I
would tell you about my snorkel mask injury, spa injury, and a hotel bed frame
that attacked me when I wasn’t looking!
Although Laurel’s mother is a great role
model, Laurel doesn’t want to be like her mother. Is this a daughter’s
universal rule?
It’s certainly a rule in my family!
Has Laurel ever tried chocolate she doesn’t
like?
I’m not sure if Laurel has ever found any
chocolate she doesn’t like. I prefer dark chocolate myself. Unfortunately,
there are many days when my carbohydrate count exceeds my word count!
In Dying
For A Date, the readers meet Laurel’s ex, then he fades away. Has Laurel
gotten rid of the cad for good?
There is a very good reason why Laurel’s ex,
Hank, faded into the background. Let’s just call it debut author error. In book four, Dying for a Dude, Hank returns from a
construction job in southern California and is arrested for murder. Poor Laurel
finds herself torn between her boyfriend, Detective Hunter, the head of
homicide, and helping solve the mystery to get her ex-husband out of jail. I
just love creating conflict.
Although her BFF owns a spa, Laurel seems
unable to slow down enough to enjoy the treatments. Will she get her day to
relax at the spa?
I originally was going to
set a murder at Liz’s spa and title it Dying
for a Diet, but no one was very
Most of your characters are well drawn, but
gay buddy, Stan, seems a mystery. Will we find out more about Stan’s
background?
Stan will have more of a leading role in Dying for a Donut coming in 2015. The
book will take place in Apple Hill, where we locals, and a million tourists,
truly die for their fresh donuts! When my daughter moved to Montana, she made
me ship a dozen to her. And in case you’re wondering, so far I have 112
additional D titles. I guess I’ll be writing until I’m 200!
Were you a closet romance/mystery writer
while serving as CEO of a mortgage company?
I was an un-closeted historical romance and
mystery writer while working at El Dorado Savings in the late seventies. But
between working 8 hours a day and throwing up 24 hours a day with two
pregnancies, the books moved lower and lower on my “have to do” list. Once I
became a single soccer mom traveling CEO, those steno pads were shoved
somewhere, never to be found again unfortunately. But my creative mind never
stopped plotting!
How did you arrive at a blended genre?
I’ve always loved mysteries and after
discovering Janet Evanovich, I realized that I preferred humorous mysteries
with a little romance thrown in. There were very few series with a single mom
as a protagonist and I definitely wanted a realistic character that readers
could identify with. My favorite compliment occurred when a local newspaper
columnist/reviewer was traveling in Jamaica. She came across a scene in a
bazaar and turned to her husband saying, “I wonder what Laurel would do in this
situation?” To which he replied, “Laurel who?” Don’t you love when people can’t
stop thinking about your imaginary characters?
What’s next for Laurel in Dying For A Dude?
Dying for a Dude introduces
Laurel’s 88-year-old grandmother. Laurel’s real estate broker mother wants Gran
to move to a retirement home, but Gran is fighting her all the way. While
walking the family property, Laurel’s mother disappears from sight. It turns
out she’s fallen down one of the old gold mineshafts of which there are
hundreds in Placerville. She lands on something hard, hoping she’s discovered a
pile of gold. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a 150-year-old skeleton. Thus,
the first mystery begins. Of course, I don’t stop there. You’ll be able to find
out more when it’s released on November 1st.
Are you a beach babe or a mountain gal?
I don’t know if it’s due to my Libra
birthday, or if I just enjoy all aspects of nature, but I am a beach and a
mountain gal. If they are together, even better!
