An Interview with Susan M. Boyer By E. B. Davis

 

If anyone knew better than to create a phone trail, it was a retired judge. He was probably a walking reference library on stupid things not to do to get caught.

Susan Boyer, Big Trouble on Sullivan’s Island, Page 229

 

Hadley Cooper has a big heart. So when the easygoing private investigator gets a request from a new friend to stake out her husband’s extramarital activities, she immediately begins surveillance. And when her client is discovered dead on her kitchen floor, the Southern spitfire is certain the cheater is the culprit … even though he has the perfect alibi: Hadley herself.

Flustered since she observed the cad four hours away in Greenville at the time of the murder, the determined PI desperately searches for clues to tie him to the crime. But when her ex-boyfriend, who happens to be the lead detective on the case, arrests a handy suspect, Hadley fears a guilty man is about to walk free.

 

Can this Palmetto State sleuth make an impossible connection to prevent a miscarriage of justice?

 

With dry wit and delightful dialogue, Susan M. Boyer delivers an eccentric, vegan gumshoe sure to appeal to any fan of Southern women’s fiction. With her merry band of sassy friends, Hadley Cooper is a Lowcountry detective you won’t soon forget.

 

Big Trouble on Sullivan’s Island is the engaging first book in the Carolina Tales series. If you like strong heroines, quirky sisterhoods, and plenty of Southern charm, then you’ll love Susan M. Boyer’s wonderful whodunit.

Amazon.com

 

I knew after reading the last Liz Talbot novel that Susan M. Boyer had finished her story arc, and I was sad, knowing I’d miss Liz (and her family). Big Trouble on Sullivan’s Island is the best come back I’ve ever read. Sink into this book when you need a vacation!

 

Susan’s new hero is Hadley Scott Drayton Legare Cooper. How’s that for a Charleston, SC name? And Hadley’s background is a complicated, sordid, and pedigreed as her name implies. The only similarities between the two series are the location and the vocation of the main characters, PIs.

 

The case, the victim, and the complications are the other interesting elements that will compel you to turn its pages. Have fun reading this one.

 

Please welcome Susan M. Boyer back to WWK.              E. B. Davis

Your former publisher stopped publishing. Is Stella Maris Books, LLC your publishing company? If so, why did you decide to go the self-publishing route?

 

Thank you so much for having me back to WWK! Yes—Stella Maris Books, LLC is my own publishing company. Honestly, I would’ve gone this route regardless of the choices my former publisher made. I got the rights back to Lowcountry Boil in September of last year, and I had to find a way to keep the first book in the Liz Talbot series available for new readers. Publishing Lowcountry Boil myself was really my only viable option—I had to learn how to do it myself. I was actually shocked at how much I enjoyed the process. I first published a short story collection as a way of teaching myself how to do it.

 

Like Hadley, are you vegan?

 

Well…this is a fairly recent development for us, but my husband and I eat a whole food plant-based diet most of the time. The closest familiar label is vegan. But we’re somewhat flexible about it. Sometimes we eat fish. Sometimes we eat cheese. Very rarely—maybe twice a year, we eat beef. But most days we eat vegetables, fruits, grains, and beans.

 

How did Hadley and her younger-by-two-days half-brother, JT, get to know each other?

 

Interesting question! I haven’t written that story yet. I only know they met when they were sixteen and they were instant friends and have been close ever since. I will very likely write this backstory as an extra for readers at some point.

 

What is Hadley’s way of celebrating her birthday?

 

Because it’s such a sad anniversary for her as well—the anniversary of the day she lost her mother—she doesn’t actually celebrate her birthday at all. She does spend time walking on the beach on Sullivan’s Island, remembering her mother and the happy times they shared there.

 

Who are Gavin and Joe?

 

Gavin Kinloch is a grandfather figure of sorts. He and his wife, Maribel, lived in the house next door when Hadley was growing up. Joe Vincent is Gavin’s best friend and Hadley’s mentor. A former FBI agent, he was a private investigator for many years. Hadley worked with him when she was training to be a private investigator, then later as an associate before opening her own agency. Gavin and Joe are family to Hadley.

 

Hadley’s one car is a 1966 Ford Fairlane. Do all vintage cars need a name? Jolene, Elvira?

Hahaha. Actually, I think all cars need names. It’s a habit I picked up at some point…naming inanimate objects I spend a lot of time with. Hadley gets this from me.

 

 

Did Hadley’s mother have a lot of phobias that slipped by Hadley because she was too close and too young to realize?

 

I would say Vivienne—Hadley’s mother—was very insecure. She was afraid Swinton—Hadley’s father—would grow bored with her because she felt she would never fit in in his world. More than anything else she was afraid. And then later she was afraid Hadley would be drawn to Swinton’s world and Vivienne would lose her daughter to him. Like all of us, Vivienne was flawed, but Hadley put her mother on a pedestal.

 

You introduce another POV, who the reader doesn’t really know. It’s interesting to get another viewpoint on situations. Why did you decide to present this other POV? Will the reader be introduced to her at some point?

 

Oh, yes, Mrs. Josephine Huger. I had so much fun with this character. Initially, I wrote the one chapter with this character specifically because I wanted to show a bystanders’ perspective on one particular scene—a rather dramatic public breakup scene. I enjoyed the character so much I decided to incorporate the same technique with a few other chapters as well. I honestly haven’t decided yet how well readers will get to know Mrs. Huger. It’s possible I’ll introduce her properly in a future book.

 

What were Hadley’s reasons to avoid joining the police and go the PI route?

 

Hadley would tell you that while the police are in the legal and illegal business, she’s more interested in justice. She’s in the setting things right business. And, Hadley’s perspective on law enforcement was heavily influenced by a miscarriage of justice. Her closest friend, North Pickens, was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for a number of years and it destroyed his life.

 

“…one big rattlesnake pit, with suffocating heat, relentless mosquitoes, alligators, crocodiles, and gargantuan spiders.” (pg. 29) That was the description of the Isle of Palms (then known as Long Island) by a British soldier during the Battle of Sullivan’s Island. The Isle of Palms has improved since then, hasn’t it? Does it still have both alligators and crocodiles?

 

Ha! Well, Isle of Palms is certainly more civilized now than it was back then. There are lovely homes, a shopping district, restaurants, and of course, Wild Dunes, a resort with a lovely golf course, and lots of condos and houses. You will absolutely find alligators on Isle of Palms—often on the golf course. Now crocodiles are another story. They aren’t native to South Carolina, and while there was a report of one being found a few years ago, my understanding is they think it swam up from Florida.

 

When Hadley rescues a dog caught in a riptide, little does she know that the dog’s owner, Eugenia, will become her client, her friend, and also will be murdered. But what Hadley also doesn’t know is that Eugenia is a good friend of her father and his wife. Hadley detests her father. Is the Charleston area, including Mount Pleasant and Sullivan’s Island really a small place? Or is it more a small socioeconomic group?

 

The Charleston area in general—including Mount Pleasant and all the nearby sea islands—isn’t small in terms of population. I read somewhere it’s growing at the rate of forty-eight new people every day. But the particular neighborhood in Charleston that Eugenia and Swinton are from is small.

 

Cash Reynolds is the investigating detective with the SLED. What is SLED? Why would it have jurisdiction on Sullivan’s Island?

 

SLED is the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. They handle many different types of cases, and in particular, they would get involved in a high-profile case such as the death of a retired judges’ wife, especially if it occurred in a small town.

 

Cash is also a former significant other to Hadley. He makes a quick arrest, which Hadley suspects is wrong. She speculates that their different outlook on the case is indicative of what went wrong in their personal relationship. And yet, the evidence strongly supports the arrest. Is he too black and white for Hadley?

 

I think Hadley thinks this is the case—at least at the beginning of the book.

 

Why does Hadley love and play music most 60 and 70-year-olds would love? Molly Hatchett, 38 Special, Tom Petty, etc.

 

Hadley loves listening to the music her mother loved. They listened to it together, especially while driving around in the car.

 

Is there such a thing as the “Immigration lottery?”

 

Yes—this is a real thing, and I actually know someone who came to this country from Ukraine because she won the lottery. She inspired the character of Kateryna.

 

North, a childhood friend, is very smart, but he was set up to take a DUI manslaughter charge at a college frat party and spent ten years in jail. His experience has left him outside of society. He can’t be indoors. He lives on the streets. How does Hadley try to help him?

 

Hadley tries to take care of North in every way he’ll tolerate. Mostly, she provides him with food, but he always finds a way to earn whatever she gives him.

 

Pretexting is the official name of lying? How’s that?

 

It’s a term I picked up from studying private investigating. It’s just exactly what it sounds like—telling someone whatever story they’ll accept to get the information you need.

 

Dana (“pin a rose on your butt”) Smalls is an interesting character. She black, beautiful, substantial, and the public defender assigned to Kateryna, Cash’s quick arrest. Does Dana only distrust Hadley because she is vegan?

 

I think Dana initially distrusted Hadley simply because she doesn’t know her and she doesn’t understand why Hadley would want to help her client.

 

I know all about islands that add (accreted) and subtract land in places. But this land’s vegetation is killing oceanfront views. What state entity owns the land? Wasn’t this a controversial subject on Sullivan’s Island? I’m surprised that midnight chainsaws weren’t at work. No one wants to lose their oceanfront views!

 

The town of Sullivan’s Island owns the accreted land. And yes—everything to do with the accreted land is highly controversial. There are excellent points on both sides of the issue.

 

What is chicken bog? Do you have a recipe? And why is it so important to be able to make?

 

Ha! It’s a traditional Charleston chicken and rice dish. Yes, I do have a recipe, but I actually don’t eat chicken anymore, so I haven’t eaten it in a while. I may share the recipe in my newsletter. I do that most months—share recipes from the books. It’s really just important to Eugenia that Kateryna have the tools she needs.

 

Can okra ever be anything but slimy?

 

I love okra! Yes, it’s excellent roasted and fried.

 

“I can lie straight faced when the job calls for it.” (page 310) Is Hadley “in character” when she’s on the job, like an actress?

 

In many respects yes.

 

What is iced tea—half and half?

 

Half sweet tea and half unsweetened tea. It’s just a way to reduce your sugar intake. We Southerners can drink a lot of sugar if we aren’t careful.

 

What’s next for Hadley?

 

Hadley’s second adventure will be the third book in the series. The second book will feature Tallulah Wentworth, one of Eugenia’s friends. The Sullivan’s Island Supper Club takes a step back in time and explores the origin of the group. There will be a mystery in the book, but the main character isn’t a detective. I plan to alternate books that feature Hadley Cooper with stories featuring other members of the group.

 

An Interview with Susan Boyer

For me, each case was a puzzle. I needed to find all

the pieces, orient them the right way, and fit them

together until the picture became clear and complete.

                                                                          —Liz Talbot

Susan Boyer

Lowcountry Boneyard

(Kindle Location: 809)

I write supernatural mystery, so of course I’m a Susan Boyer fan. Her protagonist, Liz Talbot, doesn’t rely on her dead best friend, Colleen, to solve cases, but if she can help, Liz accepts, which saves her life on occasion. Lowcountry Boneyard sticks to the action-packed investigation with few detours. Nate, her work and love partner, takes some of the workload off Liz, but he also increases her stress by issuing an ultimatum about their relationship. Most of the action in this edition takes place in downtown Charleston, S. C., a switch from previous books. But Stella Maris Island, the beach house, family, and dog still appear and appeal. Lowcountry Boneyard will be released on April 21^st. Look for it at your favorite retailer.

Please welcome Susan Boyer back to WWK.                                                                  E. B. Davis

Where is Kent Heyward? The twenty-three-year-old heiress from one of Charleston’s oldest families vanished a month ago. When her father hires private investigator Liz Talbot, Liz suspects the most difficult part of her job will be convincing the patriarch his daughter tired of his overbearing nature and left town. That’s what the Charleston Police Department believes. 

But behind the garden walls South of Broad, family secrets pop up like weeds in the azaleas. The neighbors recollect violent arguments between Kent and her parents. Eccentric twin uncles and a gaggle of cousins covet the family fortune. And the lingering spirit of a Civil-War-era debutante may know something if Colleen, Liz’s dead best friend, can get her to talk.

Liz juggles her case, the partner she’s in love with, and the family she adores. But the closer she gets to what has become of Kent, the closer Liz dances to her own grave.                                                                  Susan Boyer

Kent is an intriguing character and the focus of the case. She’s an heiress. Why was her father so opposed to her artistic talent and career as a painter? It’s not as if she has to earn a living.

Well, I can only give you Liz’s opinion, of course. She thinks there are several things going on there. He’s overprotective, has a low opinion of artists in general, and he wants Kent to have a traditional Charlestonian matron’s life. But more than that Liz suspects that Colton Heyward has no illusions about his in-laws. He knows plenty and reckons a great deal more. Kent’s love of painting is one she shares with her maternal grandfather, C.C. Bounetheau. Liz believes Mr. Heyward would discourage anything that might strengthen Kent’s ties to the Bounetheaus.   

Have you ever experienced being close to a fatal situation and knew you could have been the victim?

Not that I’m aware of. But I have experienced situations where I believed if I’d arrived on the scene a few seconds earlier or later, it could easily have been a fatal situation. Once, a truck going in the opposite direction on the Interstate lost a load of lumber. Some of it came flying across the median and struck the pavement not very far in front of our car. That was scary.

Liz’s mother, Carolyn, cracks me up. If Liz has nude lips, Carolyn always suggests Liz apply lipstick even after a near fatal car accident. But after her morning runs on the beach, Liz skinny dips in the ocean. Is Liz rebelling against her Southern belle mother’s appearance-oriented culture? How about when she wears white capris after Labor Day?

I don’t think Liz so much rebels against her mother as she just sees the world differently—though Liz is a girly-girl, too. But while Liz primps before going out, her mother primps first thing every morning before making breakfast and freshens up regularly. Liz humors her mamma most of the time if she’s in her presence as a matter of respect. But Liz is going to live her life on her own terms.

Would you give our readers a quick tour of downtown Charleston since most of the story’s events take place there?

Oh, wow. I don’t think I can do the Holy City justice in a paragraph—that would take a book. As a general overview, the City of Charleston is a peninsula formed by the convergence of the Ashely and Cooper Rivers. The three main streets that come to mind, which run the length of the city are King, Meeting, and East Bay. Broad Street crosses all three, and serves as a boundary between the bustling business district to the north where you’ll find all manner of shops, galleries, restaurants, et cetera, and the historic residential neighborhood situated South of Broad. Of course there are residential neighborhoods north of Broad as well, but when folks think of historic homes in Charleston, they think South of Broad. Lower Legare Street, where the Heywards live, is one block west of King Street.  

Nate, Liz’s significant other, acts the ass in this story. Why do men compete against each other even when one is history? Is Liz’s capitulation his victory measured by her sacrifice?

Who knows why men act the way they do? I don’t want to give away too much of the story here. I will say that in Nate’s case, Liz believes he carried some insecurity born of her history. Also, her family interacts with each other much differently than his, and that plays a role in his understanding her motivation.

Merry’s new boyfriend seems to fit right into the Talbot clan. Why?

I think Merry would be careful to choose someone who would fit in with her family. Family is very important to the Talbots. They’re very close-knit.

Colleen and Liz converse in public. Because Colleen is a guardian spirit, unseen by anyone but Liz, she is aware that others will view her as “Not Quite Right.” How does Liz deal with this problem?

She develops a habit of wearing her earbuds in public most of the time. This way, when folks see her talking, they assume she’s on the phone. Unfortunately, there are situations where good manners dictate Liz can’t wear her earbuds. Accidents happen.

Liz’s beach house is broken into. She employs the use of advanced technology to monitor her property. The description of the systems that can been accessed and disarmed via smart phone seemed complex but fascinating. Did you research alarm systems?

Yes, and in fact we have one with that very feature. I’m fascinated by technology, so Liz is comfortable with it.

To make readers understand and give credence to Colleen’s supernatural existence, how did you define Colleen’s world and its parameters? She is now eating and has substance. Why does Colleen insist she isn’t a ghost? Did you plan what she could and couldn’t do?

The lowcountry of South Carolina has such a rich history of ghosts, spirits, et cetera. Personally, I believe in these entities. I basically inserted my own belief system into Liz and Colleen’s world. Colleen is careful to explain to Liz the difference between guardian spirits—Colleen is a guardian spirit—and ghosts. Ghosts are lingering spirits who for one reason or another haven’t crossed over to the next life. Guardian spirits, on the other hand, have passed on, and been trained and sent back with a mission. Yes, I carefully planned the limits of what she can and can’t do. I don’t ever want Colleen to solve Liz’s cases for her. That would make Liz’s job far too easy.

Does Southern gentility make families more dysfunctional than in the north where it is lacking?

Laughing here. I think there are both functional and dysfunctional families everywhere. And I think there are both people with manners and those sadly lacking them all over. The thing that’s perhaps not uniquely Southern, but it’s certainly common here, is our need to put a good face on things—to avoid unpleasantry whenever possible, sometimes by extraordinary and comical means.  

Is your main character, Liz, related to Kendel Lynn’s main character, Elliott Lisbon? Both women seem to obsess about germs on their hands! (Better fess up now because I’m going to ask Kendel the same question.)

Ha! No, Liz has never met Elli, though I know they’d like each other. If they’re related, I’ve never come across the evidence of it. Liz gets her obsession with germs from me. I confess, I’m a card-carrying germophobe. That said, Kendel will whip out her hand sanitizer just as fast as I whip out mine.

Has Liz taken self-defensive and firearms training?

Yes, she’s taken Tae Kwon Do lessons and is considering Krav Maga. Her daddy taught her to shoot, but she’s also had lessons at the gun range, and goes in for target practice regularly.

What’s next for Liz, Colleen, and Nate?

LOWCOUNTRY BORDELLO releases in November. There’s a lot going on in that book, and it takes place during the Christmas season.

A Report from the South Carolina Book Festival

Convention Center

The 18th annual South Carolina Book Festival took place last weekend, Friday, May 16 through Sunday, May 18, at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. Each year, I think the Festival improves, and this year is no exception.

On Friday, three writing workshops offered information about: (1) writing and submitting short stories; (2) publishing in the children’s fiction market; and (3) the art of making comics. I truly enjoyed teaching my thirty students in the short story workshop and passed along much of the advice you gave me in your comments to my previous blog. In the workshop, my students had the opportunity to write two short stories, one using just six words (like Hemingway’s “For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn”) and one with six sentences (a technique recommended by Art Taylor, where each sentence describes: (1) character, (2) desire, (3) action, (4) conflict, (5) climax, and (6) resolution). I attended the children’s fiction workshop. Instructor Kami Kinard, who writes humorous novels for tweens and teens, provided excellent practical advice for writers interested in that market.

Christopher Buckley

Christopher Buckley, novelist, political satirist, speech-writer for President George H. W. Bush, editor of Esquire, and son of William F. Buckley, presented the keynote address on Friday night in the USC Law School Auditorium. He spoke about authors’ trials in selecting book titles, mentioning that editor Maxwell Perkins convinced F. Scott Fitzgerald to change Trimalchio in East Egg to The Great Gatsby, and that Joseph Heller planned to call his novel Catch-18 until he learned Leon Uris’s Mila 18 was due for release at the same time. In addition, Buckley noted that title translations have been hazardous. For example, The Grapes of Wrath in Japanese became The Angry Raisins.

On Saturday, I moderated the “Sassy Southern Suspense” panel featuring Susan M. Boyer (Agatha award winner for Best First Novel), Kendel Lynn (Agatha award nominee for Best First Novel and Managing Editor of Henery Press), and Cathy Pickens (St. Martin’s Malice Domestic award winner), three of the funniest and most delightful mystery writers you would ever want to meet.

Susan M. Boyer, Kendel Lynn, Cathy Pickens

Susan’s Liz Talbot and Kendel’s Elliott Lisbon series are set in the lowcountry, on islands off the coast, while Cathy’s Avery Andrews operates mostly in the upstate. The discussion became quite spirited when I asked which part of South Carolina was more humorous, and Cathy mentioned a certain contentious rivalry between USC and Clemson. We got a little more audience participation than anticipated! We also received some lovely compliments from folks who attended.

Conroy Siblings

Pat Conroy took the stage with three brothers and a sister to discuss their family life, which has been explored in Pat’s books. They said they had MLD contests to determine who acted “Most Like Dad” (known to readers as The Great Santini). They also spoke of a very poignant time at the funeral of their brother Tom, who committed suicide. At the funeral mass, the priest kept referring to the deceased as  “Tim” instead of “Tom.” Pat turned to his youngest brother Tim, who was sitting behind him at the service, and said he was so sorry to learn of his demise. Later, they discovered that the name had been misprinted in the program.

Friends and readers, Lynn Pixley and Anne Woodman, with Cathy Pickens

Sunday, I attended two terrific panels Cathy Pickens moderated. The first featured authors whose works included a paranormal element: Sonja Condit (her debut novel Starter House has a young couple expecting a baby moving into a home with a disruptive ghostly child), Nina de Gramont (who writes young adult novels with gothic elements), and Jason Mott (whose first novel The Returned is the inspiration for the TV series Resurrection).

Amy Carol Reeves, Cathy Pickens, Megan Shepherd, Bruce Holsinger

In the second, three historical novelists, Bruce Holsinger (a professor of English and Medieval Studies at the University of Virginia has written A Burnable Book about the relationship between Chaucer and John Gower), Amy Carol Reeves (a professor of nineteenth-century British literature pens a series of young adult novels based on Jack the Ripper), and Megan Shepherd (the daughter of independent bookstore owners crafts gothic young adult novels that stem from The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), spoke about the inspiration for their books and how they strived to be historically accurate while providing entertaining stories.

Dorothy McFalls, Nina Bruhns

A wonderful aspect of the Book Festival is that it gives you a chance to reunite with friends and fellow authors and book enthusiasts. This year, I spent time in the exhibit hall with two groups of authors, the Lowcountry Romance Writers and the Palmetto Christian Writers Network.

Also, I had the chance to reconnect with fabulous independent bookstore owners from Windsor (near Aiken), SC, Fran and Don Bush.

Deena Bouknight, Sharon Leaf, Fran Bush, Susan Craft, Don Bush, PGB, Buffy MacDonald Crabtree, Linnette Mullin

One special moment occurred that I’ll long remember. As I was entering the room to moderate my panel, a student from my workshop gave me what looked like a large card to thank me for the class. I didn’t have the opportunity to open it until later. Inside, I found that she had bound and illustrated her six sentence story into a small book. It is a keepsake from the Festival that I will always treasure.