Aaron Lazar is the author of the Legarde and Moore mystery series. He's currently promoting the release of his latest novel, Tremolo: Cry of the Loon.

Nice to have you here, Aaron. Why don’t you start by telling us a bit about your book, and what inspired you to write such a story?

Thank you, Mayra. It’s a pleasure to be here. I’d love to tell you about Tremolo and the inspiration behind it. Here’s a blurb that describes this coming-of-age mystery featuring young Gus LeGarde:

Tremolo: Cry of the Loon, takes place in the summer of 1964, when Beatlemania hits the States, and the world mourns the loss of JFK. For eleven-year-old Gus LeGarde, the powerful events that rocked the nation serve as a backdrop for the most challenging summer of his life.

After Gus and his best friends capsize their boat at his grandparents’ lakeside camp, they witness a drunk chasing a girl through the foggy Maine woods. She’s scared. She’s hurt. And she disappears.

The camp is thrown into turmoil as the frantic search for Sharon begins. Reports of stolen relics arise, including a church bell cast by Paul Revere. When Gus and his friends stumble on a scepter that may be part of the spoils, they become targets for the evil lurking around the lake. Will they find Sharon before the villain does? And how can Gus -- armed only with a big heart, a motorboat, and a nosy beagle — survive the menacing attacks on his life?

I wrote Tremolo for myself, first of all, and intended it to be the “quintessential joyful shout of childhood,” so-to-speak. I know that sounds strange and possibly selfish, but I was compelled to write it. My summers in Maine were so magical, so precious, that I needed to capture each and every memory. The drive was strong -- impossible to ignore.

It just so happened that I’d already referred to these magical summers in my first two books in the adult Gus LeGarde series, so Gus fit right into the camp. I loved picturing him as a young boy with Elsbeth (his future wife) and Siegfried (before his debilitating accident). What fun it was to introduce Gus’s parents and grandparents, who are distant memories in Double Forte’ and Upstaged. And being able to present Elsbeth as a living, breathing girl, rather than a mournful memory, was most satisfying.

How would you describe your creative process while writing this novel? Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline? How long did it take you to write it?

I wrote the first draft of Tremolo in about three months, working about two hours per day. Years later, I did add a chapter or two in during revisions, but mostly the edits were writing style changes and tips I’d picked up since writing the draft. It just poured out of me, no outline was written, nor did I have a list of events that would happen in upcoming chapters. I had vague ideas of themes that would come into play — such as meeting a mysterious famous figure, Gus’s first crush, the blueberry scene, the missing girl, etc. But I hadn’t put it together in any logical form. It just tumbled out, as most of my twelve books have done.