ParaCozyMysMo - Interview with Laura Morrigan, author of Woof at the Door - July 25, 2013

Please welcome Laura Morrigan to The Qwillery as part of ParaCozyMysMo and the 2013 Debut Author Challenge Interviews! Laura's debut novel, Woof at the Door, was published on July 2, 2013 by Berkley.

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery!

Laura:  My pleasure!



TQ:  When and why did you start writing?

Laura:  I've always enjoyed telling stories (just ask my mother!) Why? Self preservation. I'm fairly sure I'd be a raving lunatic if I didn't wrangle all the people running around in my head in to novels.



TQ:  Are you a plotter or a panster?

Laura:  I'm ADDer, so, I try to plot but most of the time I- SQUIRREL!



TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Laura:  See above. And that whole impostor's syndrome thing.



TQ:  Your first novel is Woof at the Door (A Call of the Wilde Mystery 1). What inspired you to write mysteries with paranormal/supernatural elements?

Laura:  Wishing I could understand what my dog was thinking. Really! I thought long and hard about how I wanted to write a character with a telepathic ability. How long had she had it? How did she handle being different? How would this ability have effected her? What are the limitations? As I thought about these things, Grace came to life, which was pretty fantastic!



TQ:  Do you base your paranormal/supernatural elements on existing lore, make things up or both?

Laura:  I make it up! I try to imagine how it would feel to be able to mentally link to another living being, throw in some humor, a dash of drama and sprinkle it with suspense and- Shazam!! (at least that's how I like to think of it...)



TQ:  What sort of research have you done for the Woof at the Door?

Laura:  Humm... Most of the research has been about animals. I have a Call of the Wilde Pinterest page so I have an easy way to access photos relevant to the series. Also some police procedural and forensics research. But, like I said, I have ADD so I usually start looking up something relevant to the story and wind up reading about ancient Canaanite Goddesses. (Anat is my fav- btw)



TQ:  Tell us something about Woof at The Door that is not in the book description.

Laura:  The murder victim is the quarter back for the Jacksonville Jaguars. (No athletes were harmed in the production of the actual book.)



TQ:  Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

Laura:  Grace is both. Easy- because, at times, I can slip into her skin. Hard- because I can't do what she does- communicate with animals. We're actually a lot alike- except she's prettier, younger and a lot braver than me.



TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Woof at the Door?

Laura:  I really enjoyed writing the climax- there's a lot of action and Grace discovers more than who the killer is, she gains insight to who she is.



TQ:  What's next?

Laura:  Book 3! I'm under a deadline so I'll be starting it in 3-2- SQUIRREL!



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Laura:  Thanks for having me!

Call of the Wilde Mysteries

Woof at the Door
A Call of the Wilde Mystery 1
Berkley, July 2, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 304 pages

Animal behaviorist Grace Wilde keeps her ability to psychically communicate with furry and feathered critters under wraps. But when a Doberman turns out to be the only witness to a crime, Grace will have to let the cat out of the bag in order to catch a killer.

Grace Wilde’s job is anything but normal. When she’s not helping out at the zoo by comforting agitated lemurs, she’s listening to the woes of annoyed house pets. Grace’s life gets even more complicated, though, when the cops summon her to a crime scene to help deal with the murder victim’s terrified Doberman.

The pooch turns out to be the only one who saw what happened the night of the shooting—and only Grace can get the information out of him. The problem is, how will Grace tell the distractingly gorgeous Sergeant Kai Duncan that it’s the dog who’s giving her the intel without spilling her big secret or sounding crazy? Left on her own, Grace will have to follow the pup’s lead to track down the killer. But she’ll have to be careful—or curiosity may end up killing the cat whisperer.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

About Laura

Spending the first years of her life on a Costa Rican coffee farm blessed Laura Morrigan with a fertile imagination and a love for all things wild.
Later she became a volunteer at a Florida zoo, helping out with everything from “waste management” to teaching an elephant how to paint. Drawing from her years of experience with both wild and domestic animals and her passion for detective novels, Laura created the Call of the Wilde Mystery series. She lives in Florida with her husband and far too many cats, loves the Blue Angels, wearing flip flops in November, and thunderstorms. Laura Is currently hard at work, writing the third Call of the Wilde mystery.


Website  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter @LauraMorrigan








The Giveaway

What:  One commenter will win a signed Mass Market Paperback copy of Woof at the Door (A Call of the Wilde Mystery 1) by Laura Morrigan from Laura.

How:   Log into and follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below.

Who and When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time on August 10, 2013. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules and duration are subject to change.*

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