Interview with mystery author Carola Dunn
We are privileged this week to have with us mystery author Carola Dunn, whose series is set in England in the 1920’s.
SUITE: Tell me a little about your books and what genre they are
CAROLA: The books I've been writing for the past several years are the Daisy Dalrymple series of cozy mysteries set in England in the 1920s. The tenth in the series, The Case of the Murdered Muckraker, will be out in hardcover in February (St. Martin's Minotaur). The fourth, Murder on the Flying Scotsman, came out in paperback (Kensington) in October, and the fifth, Damsel in Distress, will appear in paperback in March. I have also written 32 full-length Regencies and a number of Regency novellas. These include a time-travel and some fantasy.
SUITE:When did you first start writing? First start publishing?(short stories, books,etc)
CAROLA: I wrote my first book in 1979 and was lucky enough to sell it in 1980--it came out in 1981.
SUITE:Why do you write?
CAROLA: I started writing to put off getting a "proper" job. I guess I continue so I don't have to get a proper job. I like being my own boss, working at home in my own time. I find research lots of fun. Writing itself is fun but hard work, rewarded by the joy of finding the right words and hearing from readers who have enjoyed my work.
SUITE: Do you have a day job?
CAROLA: Writing is my day job--it pays the bills.
SUITE: That’s great. I don’t think there are many mystery authors these days that can say that. Do you have something you wish to accomplish with the things you write? i.e. enjoyment, challenging, fear...what do you want people to take away with them when they read your writing? Do you ever have a message?
CAROLA: My job is to entertain, to provide a way to escape the troubles of the present. (Of course I escape too!) One of my favorite photos is of a friend holding one of my books after a Caesarian, with tubes in her arms. I particularly like to hear from readers who have found light relief in my work when going through difficult times. If I have a message it is that of the equality of the sexes (given the differing customs of my chosen time periods--my heroines are as likely to rescue my heroes as vice versa), and that people are worthy of respect and friendship whatever their race or class.
SUITE:What time of day do you find you are most creative?
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