JULIE COSGROVE, AWARD WINNING AUTHOR AND FRIEND

Good morning from the Diamond Mine. I’m delighted to have Julie Cosgrove with us today. We’ve got lots of ground to cover today, Julie.

Great to be here, DiAne. Let’s go!

.          Julie, Please tell your readers about your salvation story.

Well, it happened when I was 13. It was a rough time. My brother had married, my sister was off to college, and my parents sold our family home and moved to a condo miles away from my friends.  I was depressed and lonely.

Mom and Dad gave me a tensor lamp, which was a fold-up desk or bedside table lamp with a very intense bulb in it, for Christmas. It was the middle of winter. I was reading in bed with my covers tucked around me and fell asleep. Somehow it knocked onto my bed and the intensity of the lamp’s bulb acted like a magnifying glass titled to the sun.  As my bedding began to smolder, I remember vividly feeling a very sore throat. I felt hot and began to cough. I told myself I was getting ill and sleep was what I needed. Suddenly a booming voice yelled, “Julie Get Out. Now!!”

I was alone at the time. Mom and Dad were at a party. My room was so smoky I couldn’t see my hand, but then the smoke parted, and I saw the closed door to my bedroom. I ran out coughing, through my parent’s bedroom and opened the sliding doors. I couldn’t speak and collapsed on the balcony.

I don’t recall much after that. But evidently the neighbors saw the smoke, rushed in, and threw my burning bedding out the window.  I remember waking up with an oxygen mask on in the hospital and telling God I didn’t know why He saved me, I didn’t think I was worth very much, but since He did, then He could make my life what He wanted it to be.  I dove into the Bible over the next few weeks and absorbed it, then called a church and asked if someone could come get me on Sunday. The youth pastor did, and that day I gave my life to Christ.

Q.     As I look over the books you’ve authored, I see a great variety of genre. I began reading your series on human trafficking and was absolutely hooked on 2 a.m. reading to arrive at “The End.” Now you’re written numerous cozy mysteries that still keep me up in the wee morning hours. What stories do you like to write best? 

I love mystery and suspense. The “human trafficking stories” were a trilogy of suspense romances about a young widow and a trafficked teen both wronged by the same man and how God redeemed them, healed them, and brought godly men into their lives.


But writing mystery is my favorite. That is the genre I love to read and also watch on TV. I love the twists and turns as the amateur sleuth begins to follow the path to the killer.  There is also a sense of justice in them. But in all my books, reconciliation and mercy are the main themes because I believe God meets us in our mess and guides us out step by step until we fall into His arms. Every book I write brings out a social issues form what I hope is a Christian perspective.

Q.  And how do you create your characters? I thought I’d never find a group I liked better than the Bunco Biddies…but all the characters in your “Leaf” books keep me equally entertained. How do you grow these wonderful people?
 

Ah, thanks, DiAne. Not to sound facetious but I have no idea.  I’ve always developed stories in my head. As the last child of an alcoholic dad, I learned to withdraw and stay quiet. I could create the outcome for my characters when mine seemed so tumultuous and uncertain. Side note - after I accepted Christ, my Dad did a few years later. He sobered up and we had a great relationship. We’d spend hours around the kitchen table in deep theological discussions when I was going for that major in college and then while I was in seminary.

 My mom was a part of a group of ladies who all were Navy wives and clung to each other during WWII. Afterwards they met weekly for Bridge games the rest of their lives. They had known each other for over 40 years when I was invited out to have lunch with four of them one time while visiting my mom. I loved how they didn’t pull punches and interacted. That was the basis for the Bunco Biddies, though I couldn’t tell you which of my Mom’s friends resemble which Biddy in the books.

Q.  On the personal side, I know you’ve moved in the not too distant past. How do you like your new digs? Did the new scenery interrupt your creative flow? If there’s ever a lull in creativity, What is the sure-cure-fix?

It was a move from one apartment to another, which was more affordable. I like the apartment but most of my neighbors are single guys in their twenties and their lifestyles clash with my peace and quiet. The hardest has been losing both of my cats, my Beastie Boys that eased my widowhood. Buster was 19 when he passed of brain cancer, and he was my writing buddy.  Blak Kat followed him six months later at the age of 11 when his kidneys shut down. But the vet and I believe he really died of a broken heart for his lifelong friend.  It was like losing two kids, and the mourning has been long. But on the other hand, this is the first time since my college days I didn’t have to care for someone else. I must admit, it is kinda nice to be a bit selfish with my time.

Q.  I absolutely love the daily segments your publisher sends out of a related short story a few weeks before a new release. Gracious, with all the things a release requires how do you manage to dress the release up with a separate short story? And if I’m not mistaken, anyone can sign up to receive these daily stories, right? Can you please give the Diamond Mine readers that web address to sign up and receive their copy of your free stories?

Well they are a series that were serials - one small sub-chapter a day for 8-10 days leading up to the book releases. People could sign up during that time period to receive each segment in their email. However, I have three short stories on my website  www.juliebcosgrove.com on the contact page, and if people sign up for my newsletter, I will send them one of their choice for free.  I wrote the short stories while the books were in edits (which usually meant a lull time of a few months).

Q.  Will you give us a little teaser of this new release? What’s the name of this one again?

     

Leaf Me Alone  is Book 3 of the Relatively Seeking Mysteries. Each deal with genealogy and finding lost kin.

– Four days ago, all Shannon Johnson, owner of Pampered Pets and Plants, had to worry about was Fluffy eating a fizzy antacid while under her care. Now her Bible study leader, Mrs. Perkins, is in hospice and wants Shannon and her hubby, Jayden, to travel to Florida to locate her long-lost nephew.

Time is running out for Mrs. Perkins, and someone may be spinning the minute hands to usher her into heaven. Shannon’s friend, Bailey, seeks to find out why, despite the hesitancy of the Chief Detective to investigate why people are dying in a hospice facility. Seems rather normal to him.

In the meantime, Shannon and Jayden’s search has let a possible murder know who they are and where to find them.  The nephew seems to be doing everything to keep from being found, and her husband may have lost his job in the process. This mystery is certainly becoming a relative thing!

Wow, Julie this has been a trip this morning. Thanks so much for taking the time to share with our Diamond Mine Readers. I’ve just finished reading Julie’s new “Leaf Me Alone.” Now it’s time to write a five-star review. See y’all next time. Bye for now!