Sleuthing Women Authors: Meet Caroline Fardig

Hello Black Words-White Pages fans and thank you for stopping by!! Ready to meet another Sleuthing Woman Author? Today we are featuring Caroline Fardig!! Click on her name to follow her on Facebook!! 

Now to get on with the interview!!

Caroline Fardig

What is the first book that made you cry?

I don’t read tearjerkers.  I like to laugh or solve a crime.

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Depends on the day!  The days that the words aren’t flowing freely—exhausting.  The days when I can’t type fast enough to keep up with my brain—energizing!

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Freaking Facebook.  I have to log out so I’m not tempted to scroll like a zombie.

Have you ever gotten reader’s block?

Sure.  But I’m not a reader who feels bad about giving up on a book that loses my interest.  I move on and find something I can’t put down.

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

My closest author friends are Deborah Nam-Krane, Zanna Mackenzie, and Carolyn Ridder Aspenson.  Deb and Zanna are my go-to beta readers, and their suggestions and ideas have done more for my writing than I can express.  Carolyn challenges me to be a better marketer and social media diva, along with always finding a way to make me laugh. I’m also part of the Midwest Writer’s Guild, which is a great organization of authors in my community who support each other in marketing and in improving our craft.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

Um…that’s a tough one.  I can’t think of an animal, so I’m going with coffee.

What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters?

For the most part, I use real people as inspirations for characters with odd flaws, so I don’t tell them about it.  However, I have an amazing character I based on both my grandmother and my great aunt, and I owe those wonderful ladies a lot for their strength, wit, and wisdom.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Ooh, I hate to think about those.  I have a romance that I cannot finish.  Nobody dies, so what’s the point? I have a Christmas romance (think Hallmark movie) that I’m only able to write during the Christmas season, when I’ve got the spirit in me.  I have my first stab at a psychological suspense novel that I can’t decide how to end. I have a middle grade mystery based on modern day versions of Jane Austen characters (cute, right???) that no one wanted to publish.  Oh, and I have several great ideas outlined that I haven’t had time to sit down and write. That was really depressing. Thanks for bringing it up.

Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?

Nope.  Purely fun, and when it’s not fun, purely work.

What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

Making them not sound like a woman wrote their dialogue.  My husband is always on me about that. He’s always saying, “No guy would ever say that—it’s too emotional.”  And I’m always saying, “Women do not want to read about what men would say in real life. They read to escape that.”

How many hours a day do you write?

Seven-ish.  I write when my kids are at school.  Summer’s coming, though, so that number may fluctuate for a while.

Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?

I’m super into psychological suspense right now.  A lot of those books break the mold of how you think a story should be told or how an ending should be tied up.  They make you think outside the box, and so does writing one.

How do you select the names of your characters?

I try to choose names that would have been popular or at least used when the character was born.  Babycenter.com is great for that. For last names, I have an old phone book that I use. I’ll just flip to a random page and see what works with the first names I choose.  If a character is from a foreign country, I research surnames that are common in that country.

If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?

Probably go back to working at the funeral home.  Oddly enough, it was a really fun place to work.

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

I shouldn’t, but I do.  Most days I deal well with them, but some days I don’t.  For some of my books, I sometimes agree with the bad ones.  If they make a good point, I respect them. If they don’t, sometimes I can laugh them off.  Sometimes.

Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Usually not, although I might reference another incident that happened in a different book in the series.

What was your hardest scene to write?

I felt really bad about what I did to my favorite male character, Ryder, in A Whole Latte Murder from the Java Jive series.  Then when he and my main character, Juliet, had to deal with the fallout from his actions in the next book, Brew or Die, some of those scenes were pretty tough.

What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

Vegetables.  No, wait. Exercise.

What is your favorite childhood book?

The entire Trixie Belden series.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Cutting out stuff I’ve written.  It’s not that I think my writing is particularly great, it’s the thought of deleting hours of work, which is basically wasted time.  People who know me know that the easiest way to get under my skin is to waste my time.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Depends on what kind of book it is.  For a cozy, it’s 2-3 months counting proofreading and edits.  For a more in-depth forensic police procedural, it’s more like 3-4 months because of the extra research.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

I’ve been a fan of Wendy Roberts for a long time, and her writing was a big influence on mine when I was starting out.  I love Tami Hoag and Patricia Cornwell for police procedurals. For fun stuff, I like Meg Cabot and Kristan Higgins.

Who are some authors in your genre that inspire you?

All the authors listed in the question above.  They all inject their own brand of wit and depth in their novels, which is both entertaining and inspiring.

What are some great books you’ve read recently?

The Wife Between Us, The Woman in the Window, Sometimes I Lie, All the Missing Girls, The Secrets She Keeps, Gone Girl (again), A Grave Search

What types of books do you enjoy in your downtime?

I will admit I’m a bad writer—I read books primarily to help my writing, not necessarily for fun.  I mean, it’s fun once I get into it, but reading is not my first choice of entertainment. I’d much rather bingewatch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or The Office with my son or The Great British Baking Show with my daughter.

What sort of research did you do to write this book?

For my latest two books, Bitter Past and An Eye for an Eye, I went back to college.  I took forensics classes, which were taught by one of the criminalists from the Indiana State Police crime lab.  She and her colleagues were kind enough to let me pick their brains and ask tons of questions to help me understand the world of forensics and law enforcement enough to write about it.

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

I wanted to branch out from cozy mysteries, but wanted to write something different than a procedural with a detective for a main character.  I love watching CSI, so I thought having a female criminalist being the heroine would be interesting.

What does a typical workday look like for you?

Take the kids to school, come back home and make coffee, drink said coffee while doing administrative stuff (emails, social media), get in as much writing as I possibly can, try to fit in a run while it’s not too cold/hot, pick up kids from school, try to write some more if time permits (which it usually doesn’t).

What is the main thing you want readers to take away from your book?

From An Eye for an Eye (The Ellie Matthews Novels), I’d like them to take away the depth of the bond between the main character and her sister.  Ellie would and did lay down her life for her sister and didn’t have to think twice about it.

If your novel were being made into a movie, whom would you pick to play the lead roles?

I think I could probably find parts for everyone in The Avengers cast.

Do you outline books ahead of time or are you more of a by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer?

I used to be a pantster.  But I’ve realized that I can write a lot faster if I have each scene planned out.  Sometimes I get really detailed with my scene outlines, and sometimes I only have a general idea, but having any kind of plan makes all the difference for me.

What do you do in your free time when you aren’t writing?

I like to cook, vacation, watch TV and movies, play guitar, and sing.

Do you put yourself in your books/characters at all?

If I’m writing in first person (which I always do), then I have to become the main character, even though I’m not necessarily like them.  That was a stretch with the new one I’m working on where I had to write from the point of view of a male narcissistic sociopath.

What has been one of your most rewarding experiences as an author?

Working with my editor at Random House, Julia Maguire.  Her expertise and guidance shaped the way I write, and I’m forever grateful to her.

Out of all the books you’ve written, do you have a favorite?

Brew or Die from my Java Jive series.  Its cover is my favorite, too.

What are your top three favorite books of all time?

Where the Heart Is (Billie Letts), Bridget Jones’s Diary (Helen Fielding), Zombie, Ohio (Scott Kenemore)

Murder Over Mochas: A Java Jive Mystery

A blast from the past gets Nashville PI and coffeehouse manager Juliet Langley in hot water in this explosive mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Death Before Decaf.

As a newly minted private eye, Juliet Langley has sworn to leave homicide to the authorities, limiting the scope of her investigations to cheating spouses and dirty business partners . . . like her ex-fiancé, Scott O’Malley. When Scott shows up unannounced at her coffeehouse, Java Jive, Juliet’s first instinct is to punch him in the nose. Her second is to turn down his desperate plea for help with a case that’s way too dangerous for her liking. But when Scott drops dead before her eyes, Juliet isn’t going to wait around for someone else to clear her name.

It’s only a matter of time before her tumultuous past with her ex-fiancé comes out, so Juliet teams up with her ex-boyfriend, police detective Ryder Hamilton, to figure out who poisoned Scott. They soon confirm that Scott was involved in an illegal scheme that’s definitely grounds for concern.

Just as romance is finally beginning to percolate for Juliet and her best friend, Pete Bennett, she has no choice but to head back to her hometown to seek out the truth. And she’ll need help from the locals to find the real killer—otherwise her happily ever after could easily end up including an actual ball and chain.

Caroline Fardig’s thrilling Java Jive mysteries can be read together or separately:
DEATH BEFORE DECAF | MUG SHOT | A WHOLE LATTE MURDER | BREW OR DIE | MURDER OVER MOCHAS

“I was hooked from the first page. I loved it!”—Dorothy Cannell, award-winning author of the Ellie Haskell mysteries, on Death Before Decaf

“This series is delightful, well written, and wildly entertaining.”—Suspense Magazine

BUY LINK: AMAZON

Thank you so much, Caroline, for stopping by and letting us get to know you!! This has been a lot of fun!! To know more about this author and her books starting on June 12, 2018, join the Facebook group HERE!!! There will be takeovers and lots of fun things to come!!