Audio books have become my favorite way to continue a story while keeping up with my busy schedule. It’s not like my husband is talking to me while reading his email on his phone, or the kid cares what’s on the car radio while watching YouTube on our commute. And don’t get me started about how tedious laundry, vacuuming, or steaming the floors can be! Audio books are a life saver!
However, I must confess that I can be rather picky when it comes to the actor who presents the author’s characters. Finding the perfect marriage of mystery and voice can be difficult—but I discovered it in Elle Cosimano’s collaboration with Angela Dawe in FINLAY DONOVAN KNOCKS ‘EM DEAD, and naturally I had to get Elle here for just deeper look into her story!
Kym: Hi Elle, welcome to the Cozy Corner!
Elle: Thank you for inviting me, Kym!
Kym: First off, I loved the audio version of FINLAY DONOVAN KNOCKS ‘EM DEAD which released 2/1/22. Angela Dawe brought all of the characters to life with amazingly different voices. What is your favorite thing about having your books in audio format?
Elle: Angela is AMAZING! She is the perfect voice for this story, and I love listening to her narrate the books. A lot of people are surprised by the fact that I never read my own books once I’ve finished my final round of edits for my publisher. Mostly because every time I read, I spot a line, a word, or a cadence that bugs me—there’s something on every page of every book I’ve written I wish I could go back and change. I find myself pausing too often to scrutinize passages, and it pulls me from my own enjoyment of the story. Audiobooks are a very different experience for me. I can listen to my entire novel, joyfully losing myself in the story without being so critical of it because the voice in my head isn’t mine, if that makes sense. Audiobooks are a way for me to go back and refresh my memory of my earlier installments without getting hung up on things I wish I had done differently.
Kym: I love Finlay’s justifications for making the wrong decisions, lol. I find them comical and entertaining—because I swear, we’ve seen some of them on clips from the world’s dumbest criminals. (I mean that in the most complimentary way!) What makes your Finlay Donovan series stand out to you as a reader?
Elle: Finlay indeed makes some questionable choices, but while those choices may be risky (and often outright foolhardy), her heart and intentions are always in the right place. Whether she’s putting on a false identity, breaking and entering, or toting a dead body in her trunk, her motives are always grounded in a deep love of her family and a sense of self-preservation that is actually pretty selfless.
Kym: Some would describe Finlay as a hot mess. I’m pretty sure the cop in her life would. What do you have in common with her, and what about her would drive you bonkers?
Elle: Finlay and I share the same dry wit and self-deprecating voice. The voice in my head—the one I hear when I talk to myself—closely mirrors Finlay’s inner dialog. We’re both moms and authors, so a lot of our worries and struggles align as well. That said, our personality types are very different. I’m a Type A. I tend to be organized, thoughtful, and risk-averse, often to a fault. Finlay’s chaotic approach to life would completely stress me out, but it makes fodder for wonderful stories. And truth? Sometimes I envy her spontaneity and pluck.
Kym: I think your organization works wonderfully in your writing;) Finlay’s love life (triangles always make the hijinks more fun) plays a huge role in your books, and in turn the love lives of the characters in the books Finlay writes play a huge role in her books. How does your love life play a role in your books? (No need to remind you we’re cozy, right?)
Elle: Um, nosy! But since I like you, I’ll let this one slide. My husband and I have been together for more than thirty years, and I couldn’t imagine raising my kids or doing this job without him, so my love life is vastly different from Finlay’s as she’s navigating a traumatic divorce and juggling two love interests. I think my experience with love comes into play in my own stories when I’m exploring certain themes through Finlay—what it means to find a true partner, someone who accepts you for all your flaws and loves you in spite of them.
Kym: LOL, I can’t help it, we have to know these little things that make you tick! Finlay and her nanny Vero are best friends, and they prove just how close they are time and time again with the secrets they keep. Have you kept some deep dark secrets of your BFF that would make for a great story?
Elle: If I told you, what kind of BFF would I be? Suffice to say, I’ve never buried a body with any of my friends. But my best friends know that I’d be first to show up with a shovel in the night, and I would carry their secrets with me to the grave.
Kym: True BFF material. What is the hardest part about writing a mystery for you? What is the most enjoyable?
Elle: The hardest aspects of writing a mystery are also my favorite ones. Mysteries have so many moving parts—a cast of characters large enough to distribute suspicion, each with their own interesting backstories and subplots. I love complex stories that challenge me to think deeply, to tackle my revisions and plot surgically. I love the challenge of pulling the wool over a reader’s eyes and sticking a tricky landing.
Kym: Superhero movie fans were used to seeing Stan Lee making cameo appearances in his movies and other authors have been known to do it from time to time when a series makes the big screen, including a recent one by Lee Childs in the Reacher series on Prime. If Finlay Donovan became a series, what type of cameos would you like to make?
Elle: The parts of my job I love the most are the ones I do alone in my pajamas (the writing). The parts I enjoy least are those which require me to do my hair, put on real clothes, and be in front of a camera. Truthfully, I’d be very happy to watch the actors from behind the camera—what an amazing experience that would be! But if given the chance to make a cameo, I think it would be so much fun to be a bar patron, having drinks at The Lush where Finlay and Julian first meet.
Kym: Can I join you! I’d love to be in that scene! If you were stuck on a scene and wanted to ‘dance it out’ on TikTok, what song would we hear and what type of dancing would you dancing do?
Elle: A) I don’t dance. I’m old, uncoordinated, and my moves date back to the 1980s—no one needs to see that. And B) I don’t understand TikTok (and given the way you spelled it, I might not be the only one—just sayin’ 😉 though I’m a pretty quick study if someone wants to volunteer to teach me. I do, however, sing at the top of my lungs while driving, usually to whichever playlist I’ve put together for my current work in progress. I keep my playlists for each book on my website, so readers can sing along, too. Right now, I’m working on a draft of Finlay #3, and my song of choice would have to be “Not Dead Yet” by Devora.
Kym: Ha! You caught me! But I can to the Carleton with the best of them! What’s next in Finlay’s world and are you working on a different project?
Elle: Finlay #3 and #4 (both yet untitled) are forthcoming in 2023 and 2023 from Minotaur Books.
Kym: Yay, I can’t wait! Where can our readers find you on-line?
Elle: I’m on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Find me @ElleCosimano. (If someone wants to teach me TikTok, maybe you’ll find me there sometime soon too.) Readers can connect with Finlay Donovan fans worldwide using #finlaydonovaniskillingit and #finlaydonovanknocksemdead. Also be sure to check out my bios for links to my website, FAQs, and all the latest Finlay Donovan news.
Kym: Thanks for joining us on the Cozy Corner!
Elle: Thanks for having me!
Until next month, get cozy and read on!
FINLAY DONOVAN KNOCKS ‘EM DEAD by Elle Cosimano
From Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead–the hilarious and heart-pounding follow-up to Finlay Donovan is Killing It.
Finlay Donovan is–once again–struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she’s dealt with lately is that of her daughter’s pet goldfish.
On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he’s a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of soccer moms disguised as hit-women, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she’d like.
Meanwhile, Vero’s keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay’s first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes… and if that means bending a few laws then so be it.
With her next book’s deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn’t a noose at the end of it…
Thriller Legal | Mystery Woman Sleuth [Minotaur Books, On Sale: February 1, 2022, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250242181 / eISBN: 9781250242198]
Buy FINLAY DONOVAN KNOCKS ‘EM DEAD: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Love’s Sweet Arrow | Audible | Walmart.com | Book Depository | Target.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Elle Cosimano
Elle’s debut, Nearly Gone, was a 2015 Edgar Award finalist, winner of the International Thriller Award, and has been nominated for multiple state book awards. Her more recent young adult thriller, Holding Smoke, was an International Thriller Award nominee and a Bram Stoker Award finalist. In addition to writing novels for teens and adults, her essays have appeared in The Huffington Post and TIME. Elle lives with her husband and two sons in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Central Virginia.
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About Kym Roberts
Kym Roberts writes by day and is a pro-surfer in her dreams by night. Her humor is often raunchy, her jokes are often bad, but her hunger for a story keeps the adventures coming fast. Experience the thrill & catch the wave of passion, mystery, and suspense with her at kymroberts.com, on Facebook @KymRobertsAuthor911, and on Twitter @kymroberts911.
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