An Interview with Carolyn LaRoche

Sep 23

With the release of Blue Ridge Murder this weekend, let's get up close and personal with best-selling author Carolyn LaRoche, and her first book in the Marshall Brothers series, Murder on the Mountain.

1. What was the inspiration behind this story?

I wouldn’t say there was a specific inspiration for this story. I prefer to read and write romantic suspense. This story is the inaugural book in a spin-off series from my Defenders of Love series.

2. Tell us about your main character. Emma Thomas is an investigative reporter.

She is driven, stubborn, and determined to get her story, no matter what. She left her hometown of Staunton, Virginia after high school graduation to escape the trauma of losing her best friend in a tragic car accident for which Emma blamed herself. Adam Marshall was Emma’s other best friend in her youth. He never left Staunton; instead, he works as a detective for the Staunton Police Department.

3. Which is your favorite minor character and why?

Vonda the crime scene technician. She wants to work on action movie sets eventually, setting up the crime scenes in the films. She speaks frequently in movie quotes and references and has a sharp wit.

4. What is your favorite personality trait of your main character?

Emma has a tendency to be a bit sassy and that keeps Adam on his toes. I like the way she can hold her own in any situation but will also ask for and accept help (eventually!) when she needs it.

5. What is your favorite personality trait of your bad guy/girl?

I don’t really like much about my bad guy. He’s cocky and thinks he knows everything. However, these traits play into the outcome of the story so it works.

6. Tell us something funny about one of your characters.

Adam has five brothers. He learned to cook as a teenager in order to be able to feed himself because being late to a meal usually meant there would be nothing left. He also learned to cook in large quantities so that he’d actually have something left to eat after his brothers sampled and “stole” bites of his food as he prepared it.

7. One of your characters is going on a shopping spree. Where does he/she go and what does he/she buy?

Adam’s preferred shopping spree would probably be at an outdoor sporting goods store where he would have his pick of fishing gear and camping equipment.

8. Your character is at a bookstore. Which section is he/she shopping in? What book is in his/her hand right now?

Emma loves mystery and suspense. It’s one of the reasons she became an investigative reporter. Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series is her current favorite so she is probably holding on to the most recent book in that series

9. Your character has the music blasting. What’s playing, and what is he/she doing while listening?

Emma loves eighties and nineties rock and will blast while cleaning, driving, and writing an article for work.

10. I’m inviting your main character to dinner. What should I make?

Emma will eat anything but is especially partial to Italian food. A big lasagna, dripping in mozzarella will guarantee her heart forever.

11. Your main character is planning a vacation. Where is he/she going?

If Adam planned the vacation, there would be a cabin on the side of a mountain, out of range of wifi and cable involved. If Emma planned the trip, they would be at the beach, in an airy cottage with a roof deck.

12. Were you surprised by the behavior of any of your characters or the direction of your plot at any point while writing?

The killer they were after turned out to be someone completely different from my original plan. Things just sort of led to the point of the reveal and the story gave me no choice in who should have been the killer.

13. Please share a few favorite lines or one paragraph.

Adam looked at the woman in front of him, holding back the laughter that he knew would make her even madder. She looked adorable when she was angry. "I didn't know you were here. You didn't answer any of those calls, remember?”

The anger faded quickly and she waved a hand in the air, dismissing him. "Whatever. You still didn't have to be so—cop-like."

This time he did laugh. "I'll try to remember next time."

14. How long did it take you to write this book?

Start to finish, this book took about six weeks to write.

15. How did you come up with the title?

Titles are a terrible struggle for me. Either it just presents itself and is perfect or I literally spend weeks bouncing ideas off of a friend of mine. This one took weeks!