Tell us about Murder on the First Day of Christmas

Finding a severed hand at a client’s house might throw lesser decorators off their games. But Chloe Carstairs and her mother, Amanda, won’t let a little thing like murder keep them from decking the halls. With a body under the partridge’s pear tree and a dead Santa in a sleigh, they have to crack the case before the killer strikes again – this time much too close to home. Filled with laugh-out-loud humor, romance and a delightfully difficult mother-daughter relationship, Murder on the First Day of Christmas is a fast-paced caper about two savvy southern girls trying to keep their very merry Christmas from turning into the Noel from hell.

We’ve got to ask; can we read this book outside of the holiday season?
Of course! Who doesn’t want to keep the Christmas spirit alive all year? And this summer, when it’s blazing hot outside, what better way to cool off than with a lighthearted Santa slaying. 

Everyone loves a Santa slaying! What genre is your book?
Rom-Com Mystery.

Tell us a bit more about Chloe Carstairs. Are we going to see more of her in the future?
Chloe is a thirty-year-old interior decorator, amateur investigator and serial dater living in Birmingham, Alabama. She’s got a knack for cracking tough cases, but solving the mystery of her love life? That’s a different story.

Murder on the First Day of Christmas is her first case, but expect to see plenty more of her and her mother Amanda, as the series continues. Murder in a Two Seater is up next and she’s solving weekly mini mysteries on chloegetsaclue.com. 

What kind of readers will the series appeal to?
Any woman trying to solve the mystery of her own love life, who has an aggravating but affectionate relationship with her mother (or daughter) and who likes a fun, funny beach read.

How long did this first installment take to write?
The book took a year with revisions. The first draft just flowed out in a couple of months and was a joy to write. While I workshopped it with my writing group, I was learning all I could about indie publishing. Then my mom died unexpectedly of an aneurism at the end of 2011. Because our relationship was such an inspiration for this book, I became more determined than ever to see it published.

We are really sorry to hear that. Is Chloe’s relationship with her mother based on your relationship with your mother? Did her passing change the direction of the book in any way? 
The relationship between Chloe and Amanda is like a greatest-hits version of the one I had with my own mother. I hope I’ve captured the humor and affection we shared. Her passing hasn’t changed the direction of their stories one bit. I’m so thankful I have this book and that it’s the first in a series. Working on it makes me feel close to her.

What was the greatest challenge in writing this book?
My job in advertising sometimes takes over my life. It’s impossible to write for 10 or 12 hours at work and then come home and think about writing a novel. I’m so lucky I can make a living doing something I love, so I never take that for granted. But finding a balance between my work life and my writing life is challenging to say the least.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I live in Birmingham, AL and work in the advertising industry. I have a super-cute boyfriend and an even cuter Rhodesian Ridgeback named Kamali. I love to travel (Thailand, Cambodia, Peru are just a few of my favorite destinations), cook (not everything Southerners eat is fried) and write – which is good, since it’s my day job and my dream job.

Have you got a blog where readers can keep up with your work? Are you on social media?
Chloe, my main character, steals the spotlight at chloegetsaclue.com. She does character interviews, challenges readers with free mini mysteries, blabs about my writing process and offers decorating and style tips. It’s a lot of fun.

Twitter @ChloeGetsaClue
Facebook: facebook.com/chloe.carstairs.73.

Where can we buy Murder on the First Day of Christmas?
On Amazon ( US, UK). Barnes and Noble.

When did you say we can expect a sequel?
Murder in a Two Seater will be out in 2013. It’s set at a classic car show and once again Chloe and Amanda have to keep someone they love out of trouble.