Even Patterson has to have help. Think of Shades and how it soared on the lists. I can’t speak on taste or lack of it. FYI: Shades of boring is not for me. I don’t need to get my kicks reading about it on page 226. I do it. You know like the Nike ad says). My writing heroes vary from genre to genre. My core indispensable heroes are Mary Higgins Clark, the late Philip R. Craig, Saranna DeWylde, Parris Afton Bonds, Dean James aka Miranda James, Laura Levine, Cleo Coyle, Leslie Meier, Tim Myers, and Jennifer Stanley (and whatever other name she is or may be ensconced in).
As I write this, folks, I am blinking back tears (yes, even the saucy diva has a heart that melts), because once again I am brimming with gratitude. I am honored to interview Ellery Adams (making a face because I want to shout Jennifer Stanley from the top of the Robert Moses Causeway, but I am remaining quiet and still. After all, it is 2013 and there’s a first for everything).
Ready? Here we go. Enjoy!
When you're deeply connected and immersed in a book, Ellery, have you ever had a dream that you felt was not your dream?
Sometimes I have dreams set near or in the ocean. I think they’re probably my memories of growing up near the water blended with imagery seen through the eyes of Olivia Limoges. These dreams don’t happen often, but when they do, I wake with a sparkling new idea for a Books By the Bay scene.
What do you love most about the cozy genre?
What I love about the cozy genre is the notion that the average Jane or Joe can be a hero. As I move through my day, I imagine things about many of the people I interact with. I will often space out and suddenly picture the gal at the coffee shop sprinkling magic into my latte or envision the bagger at the grocery store chasing some lowlife who’s run off with a lady’s purse. These are the protagonists we encounter in a cozy mystery. They’re funny and flawed and fascinating and just happen to be surrounded by a cast of minor characters that we’d love to meet. Even the villains are colorful. Add this mixture into an isolated village setting and you’ve got the recipe for a perfect read. And in the end, good and justice triumph every time. Isn’t that the kind of world we’d all like to live in?
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