Fresh Fiction: Your House-Flipper Mystery series is set on Nashville. Why Nashville? With some books and series, the location is almost like another character – is that the case with this series?
Diane Kelly: Setting definitely plays into the series, more in some of the books than others. I actually came up with the Nashville setting before I decided on the house flipper theme. My husband and I lived just south of Nashville in a town called Thompson’s Station from 2014 to 2016. I fell in love with the natural beauty of the area, with the rolling hills and horse farms and rivers. The people there are very friendly and polite, too, which I really liked. The pace is slower than most big cities, which was refreshing. When I was considering a theme for the series, my friend Paula pointed out that there was a lot of home rehab going on in Nashville since new construction couldn’t keep up with the rapid growth. I owe her for giving me the idea of house flipping. In the fourth book in the series, Batten Down the Belfry, carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck rehab an old church and turn it into an entertainment venue. This project was a direct nod to the Ryman Auditorium, an old church in Nashville that was later transformed into a performance hall and served as the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.
FF: One thing I love about cozy mysteries is the cast of fun recurring characters and the tight-knit relationships. How would you describe the relationships with your female amateur sleuth, Whitney Whitaker, and her crew of friends or family? Does she have help solving mysteries?
Diane: Whitney’s cousin Buck is her partner in the house-flipping business, and he adds some comic relief to both Whitney’s life and the stories. He’s a good guy and they are very close, more like siblings than cousins, and they’ve always got each other’s backs. Whitney has a best friend from college, Colette Chevalier, who is very down-to-earth and practical, and helps to ground Whitney. They share their dreams and aspirations, and both work hard to bring them to fruition. They share a tenacity and self-sufficiency that makes the reader really root for them. Whitney’s father is supportive, though her mother tends to worry and wishes Whitney had a more traditional career. All of them help in one way or another to solve the mysteries, by offering a tidbit of information that helps things along or simply providing moral support.
FF: Your book FOUR-ALARM HOMICIDE involves a historic property – a firehouse to be specific. What’s your inspiration for this story? Do you have a fondness for historic buildings?
Diane: I love historic buildings! It’s so interesting to me to see hard proof of the way things used to be, and the technology that was available at a given time. I laughed to learn that the gas lamps in Nashville’s Belle Meade Plantation house were fueled by methane from horse manure. The place was a famous horse breeding facility, so they had plenty of the stuff around and put it to good use. Several of my readers suggested the fire house idea, and I immediately liked it. I knew the pole would become a fun focal point.
FF: With mysteries, I’m always curious what an author’s research is like. Can you describe your process for readers?
Diane: With this series, since I no longer live in Nashville, I spend a lot of time looking at maps and Google street view to see what neighborhoods truly look like. I also search on Zillow and Realtor.com for properties similar to the ones I’m considering featuring in the book. Looking at the real estate listings helps me get a feel for the structural character of a neighborhood. For instance, Germantown, which is featured in Four-Alarm Homicide, is a neighborhood known for townhouses. Once I learned this, I knew I should feature a townhouse in the story. I also look on Trip Advisor for things to do in the area so I’ll be familiar with landmarks I should include in the stories.
FF: If you could pick one of your books—other than FOUR-ALARM HOMICIDE—to recommend to a reader unfamiliar with your work, which one would you pick? And why? Most people say the first book in a series, but there might be other folks like me who don’t always start a series with the first book.
Diane: I’d suggest they read book #3 of my Paw Enforcement series, Laying Down the Paw. I’ve had readers tell me they thought it was my best book, and I feel the same. I dug way deeper emotionally in writing that book, and even cried a little while writing some of the scenes. It felt so real to me. Another option is book #7 in my Tara Holloway/Death and Taxes series. It’s called Death, Taxes, and Silver Spurs, and of all the books I’ve written, it was the easiest. It just flowed so smoothly! I wrote it in almost no time at all. I wish all of my books were like that!
FF: Other authors I’ve interviewed have told me that the kinds of books they enjoy reading are different from the kind of books they enjoy writing. What do you like to read? Favorite books? Favorite author?
Diane: I tend to read books that are cozy-ish, but with a little more edge. I enjoy Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, and anything by Dave Barry or Carl Hiaasen. I also enjoy the spoofy, over-the-top humor in Christopher Moore and Christopher Buckley’s books. I also like Nick Hornby’s books. He’s so good with character. Picking one favorite book or author would be very hard, but these are my top picks.
FF: What are you currently working on?
Diane: I’m currently working on book #7 in the House Flipper series, which will be set at a boarding school and is titled Dead Posts Society. The plot will be a little different, since the murder investigation is a cold case, but it won’t stay cold for long.
FOUR-ALARM HOMICIDE by Diane Kelly
Some properties are too hot to handle…
Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are hot for a historical property that has just come on the market—a fire station in Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood that was built nearly a century ago.
The cousins have just begun the interior demolition work at the fire station when Joanna Hartzell, who lives in a townhouse around the corner, comes by with a plea for help. Joanna owns the right half of her building, which she proudly maintains in perfect condition, while the left side falls into disrepair: the seven adult children who inherited it years ago refuse to lift a finger on repairs. Never one to turn down a challenge, Whitney and Buck manage to acquire the rundown townhouse—though it turns out Joanna is only one of the many neighbors interested in buying the property once they’ve worked their magic.
Then Joanna shows up at the fire station confused and rambling, then collapses, never to recover. Alarm bells go off for Whitney: she suspects something—and someone—evil could be the real cause. Can she and Collin put the clues together and smoke out a killer?
Mystery [St. Martin’s Paperbacks, On Sale: April 23, 2024, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250816085 / ]
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About Diane Kelly
A former tax advisor and assistant state attorney general, Diane Kelly is no stranger to white-collar crime. When she realized her experiences made great fodder for novels, her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her award-winning Death and Taxes romantic mystery series. A dog lover and Citizens Police Academy graduate, Diane also writes the hilarious K-9 cop Paw Enforcement series. Her love of vintage homes and renovation shows was a natural segue into her House Flipper mysteries, which feature a fabulous feline. Diane’s other series include her Busted female motorcycle cop series, her Southern Homebrew moonshine mystery series, and her Mountain Lodge Mysteries series, which is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains not far from her home in North Carolina.
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