An interview with author Arlene McFarlane
Hi!
Welcome to Zigzag Timeline. Can you tell us about your background as an author?
Hi Mary! Thanks for having me! I’ve
been writing for over ten years, learning my craft, entering contests,
attending workshops and conferences. Murder, Curlers, and Cream is my debut
novel.
What
got you into writing?
I began writing when my children were
little. I started by writing picture books and one day decided to try my hand
at writing a novel. Finishing a 300-page book was a huge accomplishment. My
story didn’t have plot or structure, but it did have snappy dialogue! And I’d
been told I had a strong voice.
What was the first
idea you had for your book, and how did the story grow from there?
I’d heard so many times to write what
you know, so I took my knowledge from the beauty industry and my love for
cozies, and the Murder, Curlers series was born. The first idea I had for my
book was to have my protagonist use her tools of the trade to help solve
mysteries. From there, I wanted a set of characters that would complement her.
And naturally, there would have to be a love interest.
Among
your characters, who's your favorite? Could you please describe him/her?
I’d have to say Valentine is my
favorite character. She’s stylish and she’s got spunk, and she’s got a soft
heart and strives to do her best in every situation.
What's your favorite scene from your
novel? Could you please describe it?
I don’t know if I have a favorite
scene, but I like the constant quibbling between Phyllis and Max, and I love
the sexual tension that brews when Valentine and Romero are together.
What's
your favorite part of writing? Plotting? Describing scenes? Dialogue?
I love writing dialogue. It comes easy,
and I’m told it’s one of my strengths.
How
long does it take you to write a book? Do you have a writing process, or do you
wing it?
This is a hard one because book one of
the series went through a lot of revisions. Book two got easier, and book three
faster yet. I start with an outline, then a first draft. I keep on improving
until I feel it’s done. I’m not a fast writer, but I try to be thorough.
What is it about the
genre you chose that appeals to you?
I enjoy reading cozy and comedy
mysteries. Always have. Straight romances don’t hold my interest for long. I
need a lot of humor and of course mystery to get me through the book.
Are
there any books or writers that have had particular influence on you?
Janet Evanovich, Lawrence Block, Sophia
Kinsella. They’re witty and charming people.
Did you ever surprise
yourself when you were writing your book? Characters who took on lives of their
own? Plot elements that took unexpected turns?
I love when my characters become real,
and yes, sometimes it feels like they’re writing their part in the story.
Mostly, though, I’m very disciplined as to how the story should go.
Thanks for stopping
by!
Thank you, Mary, for your time and for hosting me on Zigzag
Timeline!
Arlene
McFarlane is the author of the Murder,
Curlers series. Previously an aesthetician, hairstylist, and owner of a
full-service salon, Arlene now writes full time. When she’s not making up
stories, or being a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, cat-mom, or
makeover artist, you’ll find her making music on the piano.
Arlene is a member of Romance
Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Toronto Romance Writers, SOWG, and the
Golden Network. She’s won and placed in over 30 contests, including twice in
the Golden Heart and twice in the Daphne du Maurier.
Arlene
lives with her family in Canada.
“Smart,
Entertaining, and Laugh-Out-Loud Funny!”
Liliana
Hart, New York Times Bestselling
Author of the Addison Holmes Series
MURDER, CURLERS, AND CREAM
Valentine Beaumont is a beautician with a
problem. Not only has she got a meddling mother, a wacky staff, and a dying
business, but now she’s got a dead client who was strangled while awaiting her
facial.
With business the way it is, combing
through this mystery may be the only way to save her salon. Until a second
murder, an explosion, a kidnapping, death threats, and the hard-nosed Detective
Romero complicate things. But Valentine will do anything to untangle the crime.
That’s if she can keep her tools of the trade in her bag, keep herself alive,
and avoid falling for the tough detective.
In the end, how hard can that be?
MURDER, CURLERS, AND CREAM
CHAPTER ONE
Excerpt
“You wound a
perm rod around a man’s what?”
Detective Romero stood in the middle of my Mediterranean-styled salon, hand on his gun hip, legs spread wide. His deep voice was laced with
cynicism, and his blue eyes pierced me with a look that said now he’d heard
everything.
I know it
sounded outrageous, but good lord. It’d been
several years since “Local Beautician Valentine Beaumont Uses Perm Rod to Curl
Murderer’s Gonads” made front page headlines in the Rueland News. Was I ever going to live that down? It was an awful
picture of me they’d run too, considering I was soaked in mud and covered in
cuts and bruises.
Besides,
there was another crisis at hand. I mean, a dead body had just been removed
from the facial bed in Ti Amo—one of my treatment rooms, not thirty feet down
the hall. Didn’t this detective, in his faded jeans and brown plaid shirt,
think that was a little more
important?
I pulled at
my tight-knit top, trying not to let him get under my skin. “For the record,
that perm rod saved me from being knifed to death. Anyway, it sounds worse than
it was.”
“Worse than
it was! Lady, that’s about as worse as it can get for a man.” He blew out a
sigh. “I’d love to hear the full story on that one day.”
I smiled
sweetly. “If you’re nice to me, maybe one day I’ll tell it.”
He glared at
me, probably not certain if I was being sarcastic or sincere. Frankly, I wasn’t
sure about that myself.
Social
Media Links:
RELEASE DAY ~
NOVEMBER 8, 2016
Purchase
Links:
FR: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B01M3RMQMG
