Name:
D.E. Haggerty
The Title of Your Work or Group:
Never Trust a Skinny Cupcake Baker, Book 1 of the Death by Cupcake series
Where are you from? Does not have to be the name of the place exactly. You can say Hick-ville Florida, for example if you are more comfortable with that.
I’m originally from Wisconsin, but I haven’t lived in the U.S. for more than two decades now. I’m a gypsy at heart.
In what genre do you write?
I write everything from military suspense to romantic comedies to cozy mysteries.
In your own words, what is your book about? If you were not the author and trying to explain this awesome book you just read to a friend, what would you say about it?
Never Trust a Skinny Cupcake Baker is so much fun! The mystery will keep you wondering whodunit until the very end. It’s a roller coaster adventure from pole dancing classes to police interrogations to stripper auditions. And there’s just enough romance to make your heart flutter.
What is your writing style? Do you follow all guides and rules? Synopsis, outline etc. or do you just sit down at the computer and type to see what happens?
I like to think I’m a total rebel, but since I mostly follow the rules of grammar, I guess that’s just a pipedream. When my muse hits me up with a new book idea, I grab my one of awesome journals and start taking notes. I usually have a synopsis and character outlines done before I start writing. With my latest cozy mystery, I did more outlining of the murder and clues before I started typing away. The hubby claims this was the best mystery yet so it looks like my days of thinking I’m a rebel are over. It’s outlining all the time from now on.
Have you ever written anything and thought; " The world has got to see this!" ?
Totally. Then, the next day when the wine had worn off, I thought ‘maybe not’.
Do you have an editor and Cover Designer or do you do this yourself?
The BIGGEST mistake I ever made was not using an editor for my first novels. I thought I have a post-graduate degree; I know how to write. Um no. I know how to write legal briefs. I do not know how to copyedit an 80,000-word novel without reading over silly mistakes. My cover designer is my husband. I always have a vague idea of what I want the cover to look like. I tell him and then he goes to town.
Who is your favorite author? Not just someone that you read allot. I wanna know whose book you read that made you suddenly know that if you didn't do this for the rest of your life then you would never be happy.
This is such a hard question. I have writers I love like Khaled Hosseini and Amitov Ghosh who, when I read their books, I think “Oh God, why did I think I could write?” Because their novels are just plain beautiful. But then I’ll read Janet Evanovich and think “Oh yeah, this is what I want to do. Make readers laugh and forget they’re stuck with dysentery in a hotel in Vietnam”. (true story)
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
There always comes a point in every novel where I wonder if I can pull the story off. Can I manage to find the murderer? Can the heroine find love? I solve these types of issues with copious amounts of wine. Beer works as well.
Do you write your characters or do they write themselves through you?
I have these awesome ideas of what I think my characters should be like. Then, I start to write and the characters are like “What is she doing? That’s not what I’m like.” And I end up having to change everything.
Do you ever write yourself into the characters?
Totally (anyone who says no is a big fat liar). In Never Trust a Skinny Cupcake Baker, the main character, Callie, is a total nerd. I was having a hard time portraying that. Then, I remembered: “Hah! I’m a nerd.” So, I looked at the nerdy things I do and totally copied them.
Is writing your full time job or are you "Keeping your day job"? So to speak.
I write full-time, although I don’t make enough money to say I’m a ‘professional’ writer. Luckily, the hubby makes enough for the two of us.
If you could go back in time and meet one famous person or legend in history, who would it be?
I’m going to have to go with Catherine the Great. I’m totally obsessed with Russian history (I even have a degree in history. Told you I was a nerd.) and I LOVE strong women. What’s stronger than a German woman taking over the Russian empire?
There are millions of new books released every year. What in your mind makes yours stand out from all those millions in your genre?
I hope my books are more fun than your average cozy mystery. I’m talking strippers, pole dancing, and cross dressers as well as old ladies who think they are God’s gift to matchmaking and have no filters on what they say at all.
In the world of Indie, marketing is very difficult, especially if you don't have the funds to pay for it. Have you found a great free way to market your work that you think other Indies will benefit from?
Blogging. Blogging. And then blog some more. It’s really time consuming but if you stick with blogging, you’ll gain followers to whom you can sell your books!
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