1. What were you in
your life before you became a writer? Did this influence your writing?
I
worked for 10 years as an insurance claims examiner, handling automobile and
liability claims. When I was developing the idea for my sleuth, Paula, I chose
insurance adjuster for her career because it’s a profession I know and adjuster
felt more active and dynamic than examiner. I intended Paula to be an amateur
sleuth and it was only toward the end of writing the first book that I realized
insurance adjuster is a great job for a mystery series heroine. A key
ingredient of the job is investigative skills; insurance claims, such as
burglaries and fires, could be cover-ups for murder.
2 Are you genre
specific or general? Why? I don't mean genres like romance, mystery, fantasy
etc. There are many subgenres of the above.
I’m general. My two published novels are whodunit mysteries.
I’ve written a third novel that is mainstream and doesn’t fall into a genre
category, although it uses aspects of suspense. I have the germ of an idea for
a historical novel I hope to write one day. In addition, I’ve published a
number of short stories. Most are mainstream, a couple ventured into fantasy,
and the few mysteries I’ve written are suspense or psychological rather than
whodunits. Why I’m so general is
probably due to your next question.
3. Did your reading
choices have anything to do with your choice of a genre or genres?
I’ve loved reading whodunit mysteries since I was a child,
starting with The Bobbsey Twins and continuing through Nancy Drew, The Happy
Hollisters, Trixie Belden and other series. Later, I got into Agatha Christie. Daphne
du Maurier added dark suspense to my reading mix. These days, I read about an
equal amount of mystery, suspense and mainstream literature, which explains my
continuous writing shifts between mainstream and mystery.
4. What's your latest
release?
Ten Days in Summer, the second book in the Paula Savard
Mystery Series, was published by BWL in January. In this novel, Paula
investigates a suspicious building fire that caused the death of hoarder. The
story is set against a backdrop of The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth—The
Calgary Stampede.
5. What are you
working on now?
Book 3 of the Paula Savard series. No title, yet. Paula
investigates a hit and run collision that killed a woman and seriously injured
her husband. The novel is set in winter, with typical
Calgary weather of deep freezes and warm Chinooks.
6. Where can we find you?
Twitter: @Susan_Calder
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