Hi, guys! V. Joy Palmer here! Since we are all friends here, you guys can call me Joy. ;-) And one of my favorite things to do is talk with my friends at coffee shops then head to the bookstores. Yes, plural. After all, books and yummy drinks are the perfect combination! So consider this our virtual coffee shop. I'll wait a second for you to get your warm drink and a fuzzy blanket before we chat with today's guest. <3
Today we are going to pry into the private life of CHAT with Julie B. Cosgrove!
Interview ~
This may be the most important question I ask -- no pressure or anything, LOL!
*drum roll*
What are you drinking in our virtual coffee house? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? Something else altogether?
Depends on the time of the day and the season. First thing in the morning? I definitely waddle zombie-like to the Keurig and pop in a pod, usually French vanilla or caramel cream coffee…sometimes cinnamon vanilla. Add a few droplets of stevia and a dash of half and half and I am ready to start the day. Midafternoon I grab a tea bag of Earl Grey or Vanilla Latte. On a chilly winter evening―yes, we have a few of them here in Texas―a cuppa hot chocolate with a few ginger snaps or English biscuits for dipping is a great wind-down treat.
All delicious choices! If you could order anything in the world to eat (we can dream, can't we?), what would it be?
Raised in San Antonio, I have con queso coated DNA! Gotta get that cheese enchilada, frijoles, and arroz inside my tummy at least once a month. I also like the spinach and cheese tamales from Texas Tamale Co. They come frozen, a dozen to the bag. Two steamed in the microwave then peeled from the husk and sprinkled with shredded cheese is a meal!
YUM! Where is your favorite place to write, and why is that your favorite place?
I write at my desk in the breakfast nook of my apartment that I have converted into my office. My guinea pig’s cage is in here and he keeps me company. It is also where I am blessed to work my day job, virtually, doing the billing and credentialing for six wonderful psychotherapists practicing in various towns in Texas. I usually have my Christian radio station softly playing on my Google mini in the background. Yeah, I sing and write at the same time.
Great space! Do you have an odd habit that is only explained by your bookish, writer tendencies? Safe space. ;-)
Did I just answer that?? Seriously, I carve out time to write since I am still a working gal. I take a weekend off, get in a zone, then write, write, write until my tummy growls or my bladder urges me to stop a moment. I never word count. I just keep going until the mystery is solved, the red herrings are dissolved, and the wheels of justice revolve. I know some authors snack as they write. I don’t. Makes the keyboard too crummy or sticky and that yanks my mind out of the mystery plotting. And yes, I have to have a cleaned off desk to work, the laundry done, and the furniture dusted first.
Awesome! What inspired you to write The Visitor Makes a Retreat!
My publisher wanted to create a mystery/light
suspense novella series and asked me to lead it off. It released on February 10th.
There will be seven books, each written by a different faith-based author. A new one will release on the second Friday of every month through August. The Visitor is Connie B. Wright, raised and homeschooled by her parents who headed up the Wright Foundation. The family travelled as they promoted charities for children. Now as an adult, she has taken over, and still travels the US fundraising for these charitable organizations. Somehow mysteries always arise, like a tree root protruding in a sidewalk, to try and trip up her efforts. But by God’s grace, Connie helps solve the issue so the events and justice can prevail. By the time this publishes, book two, The Visitor Meets Old Hairy by Fay Lamb will be premiering. Be sure to grab it folks!
Sounds great! What led you to write in this genre?
Even at an elementary school age, I loved to
watch the mystery movies matinees on TV. Charlie Chan, Nancy Drew, and Sherlock
Holmes captivated me. Now I indulge in the ones on Brit Box. Endeavor, Morse,
Lewis, Vera, Death in Paradise, Father Brown, Midsommer Murders, New Tricks … the
list goes on. Mysteries have always been my favorite genre to read, too.
So about six years ago my sister asked me why didn’t
I try writing them? My publisher at the time did not contract mystery writers,
but since I had published six suspense romances with them, the editor in chief
agreed to take on a four-book contract called the Bunco Biddies Mysteries.
Then, when that publisher sold out, Write Integrity Press picked me up. I
landed a three book contract with them called the Relatively Seeking Series,
the began the Word Play Mysteries, of which four out of the six contracted are
published. In the Word Play Mysteries, set in the fictious town of Scrub Oak,
TX, the widows of the community help solve mysteries using their word-playing
skills. Word Has It involved a Scrabble game, Word Gets Around
had one-word clue riddles left on windshields, In Other Words featured
palindromes graffitied on the walls of the village and Hang on Every Word
used clues in the Hangman game published in the local newspaper to target which
local merchants were to be robbed next.
Now, I am involved in the Visitor Series.
How fun! What message do you hope to convey to your readers?
In each of my books I want
my readers to learn something about a social issue. Christ’s last instructions
on earth told us to go out to the nations, baptizing them and teaching them the
way of life He commands, as well as exhibiting the love He gives. Unless we
know what troubles people are facing today, how can we relate to them? Like our
Lord did the Gospels, we must meet folks in need with compassion so we can then
show them how faith can help them?
Great message! Can you tell us a little about your next project(s)?
After The Visitor series is over, the next Word
Play Mystery, Away with Words, is scheduled to release in the fall. Then
one or two more are planned after that, probably one every six to eight months.
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Lots of exciting stories in the future! Do you have a favorite Bible verse or story that inspires you on a soul level?
Mathew 6:25-33 has always been my go-to. At different times in my life not worrying about the physical things in life have
taken on different nuances, but it always rings true. As a widow who was left
without financial security twelve years ago, I have clung to these verses. God
has never let me down. I always have had a little money at the end of the month
and a at least three to four meals’ worth in the fridge.
I grew up reciting part of Psalm 51 in the
morning, and I still do to begin my devotional time. Create in me a new
heart and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your salvation
and renew a right sprit within me. It realigns my will with His each day.
So good!
I am reading A Murder of Crows by Anita Klumpers. In it a woman witnesses her boyfriend murdered in a woods filled with crows they were birdwatching. Now she is on the run, fearing for her own life. Anita and I used to share the same publisher and she is an amazing author. I love her vivid style of writing and how she interweaves dialog and action into her suspense romances.
Sounds like a fun read!
Thank you for answering all of my prying questions, Julie!
Check out Julie's new release, The Visitor Makes a Retreat!
Purchase The Visitor Makes a Retreat HERE!
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