This afternoon, I have the joy of welcoming to my blog an Indie Author who has created quite a stirring of my imagination with her Cosy Mystery which bends genres and leads you to think about the particulars surrounding it’s inner core of story even without reading Chapter One! I had a delight in selecting the questions that I wanted to compose for this interview, because as I took a peek round the author’s site; I started to generate a keener interest in knowing a bit more about the background of the story itself and how the writer Ms Smythe set about giving the fullness of it’s depth by creating such a genuine appeal for it’s mystery!

Smythe opens up a door into her writing life and starts to share a personal side of her life as well, as the conversation ebbs in and out of her current releases, works-in-process and a bit of insight into her personal life outside of writing as well. She’s candid and honest, lending her thoughts to the questions whilst giving us a fuller glimpse into how stories can be crafted and inspired by such random moments of inspiration as they tend to spark life inside themselves by a vehicle of motivation that is not always easily able to illuminate.

Whilst we were conversing, I happily saw a woman emerging into a new chapter of her life as she embraced an unexpected avenue of creativity; as writing entered her path after a career, granting her a new route to pursue where the words fuelled her imagination. I hope you will appreciate the conversation as it unfolded as much as I had in sharing it with you!

Sally must deal with the grief of losing her father, a man she knew very little about. After the funeral she takes time out to be alone and reflect on her life.

To find out the truth about him, she first has to make amends with her estranged mother and half-sisters, who she hasn’t spoken to for almost twenty years.

In the meantime, Mr Leriche from Interpol opens a fascinating old case file, about a stolen painting potentially worth millions. Before long Sally finds herself in the middle of a criminal investigation. Having discovered she is the sole beneficiary to her father’s estate, she must decide whether to develop the business or walk away.

Reflections is an emotional journey.

Thank you Jorie for inviting me to interview.

Your questions are certainly in depth and I will do my best to answer them all.

I hope I don’t disappoint.

Quite curious how you became a writer, on the level it was originally a personal challenge; one of which yielded enough content for two novels before sparking a third. As you took on this process of writerly growth, did you see the story knitting together in sequential order as to be stand-alone sequels of each other, or moreso to an evolving series where one story might lend a bridge of sorts (setting, character, central thematic) into the next? Perhaps none of the above, and they are simply being released as one-off stories?

Smythe responds: I am also curious about how I became a writer. I was always in awe of people who were able to write books and thought how wonderful it would be to have that skill and to publish. Although it was a goal I never truly believed I’d ever achieve it. Being semi retired, approximately seven years ago, I decided to attempt a book purely to prove to myself that I could. However I didn’t publish the first book that I wrote. I had shelved the idea for a while. Then two years ago I began writing a very different book The Other Side of Town, which was published March 2015.

I took a character from my original book and expanded on her journey. Judith wasn’t my main character but I did however enjoy expanding on her life story. My second book Reflections, was the result of unfinished business with the first book. I still wanted to tell Sally’s story but chose to look at it from another angle. Instead of her looking for her father, it begins with his death and how she reflected on her life in preparation for her future. I’d never intended either of my books to be a sequel and in many ways they are not. However for anyone that has or will read my second book they will find characters from the first popping up. Although not deliberate to begin with I’ve rather enjoyed linking them in a small way. We get to know what happened next in a particular characters life. Read More