Interview with Eden Monroe, WHO BURIED SARAH

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

My latest book is Who Buried Sarah, a Canadian Historical Mystery and it was a thrill to represent my home province of New Brunswick in this series. Who Buried Sarah is a whodunit set during the roaring twenties amid the backdrop of Prohibition shenanigans which helps set the tone for the story. The 1920’s was also a time of sweeping change with the world in a celebratory mood following not only the conclusion of the Great War, but the end of the H1N1 pandemic. In particular it saw the birth of the modern woman, the flapper, and this hugely influenced my character, Sarah Estey, a beautiful young school teacher and daughter of a local pastor, engaged to marry the wealthy young bachelor, Connor McLagen. Neither set of parents wants the wedding, the McLagens because Sarah is socially beneath them, and Pastor Estey and his wife because they consider the McLagens Prohibition profiteers. Sarah insisted on a flapper-style wedding dress, and indeed Connor financed its original design, but she never got to make that walk down the aisle – disappearing just days before her late June wedding. And then she was found buried in a rose garden – but how did she come to such a gruesome end?

 

Do you have a favourite character?

I would have to say that my favourite character in Who Buried Sarah is Maude Estey, Sarah’s mother. Oddly enough that wasn’t how it started out because I didn’t like her much at the beginning. Maude, like her husband, Reverend Cranston Estey, was narrow-minded, judgmental and controlling. However Maude grew a great deal throughout the telling of the story, the catalyst being her daughter’s disappearance and ultimate death. It was during this time that Maude saw her daughter’s defiance for what it was – healthy independence, and it became for her a polarizing insight. I was not prepared for her personal growth, a determination to free herself from a miserable marriage. That’s not how I thought it would go for Maude. I didn’t think I would end up with the utmost respect for her. I think of her metamorphosis with emotion. 

 

Briefly describe your journey in writing your first or last book. Have you joined any FB author groups to inspire and help you along the way?

No, I’m not much of a joiner because writing has always been an intensely personal experience for me. I’m sure though that those who do take advantage of the many FB opportunities, benefit from those author interactions.

 

My first book, Dare to Inherit, (originally called Inheritance) took many forms in my mind before I climbed into the haymow one summer day and started to put pen to paper. And as much as I consider writing a solo preference, I did have a large audience of barn cats looking on with green-eyed curiosity. After a while most of them abandoned their stare and tucked themselves in for an afternoon nap, always ready to take flight should I made any unwarranted moves toward them. I wrote the entire novel by hand over that summer. Later, I was required to submit a novel as part of the honours phase of my distance-ed studies. That’s when I took Inheritance out of the hatbox and sent it along for grading. It did pretty well and I was encouraged. My instructor said the book would make a great second novel, however it ended up being my first.

 

Are you currently under a traditional contract for future books or do you have manuscripts that you will self-publish? Are you doing both?

I’m not self-publishing anything at the moment although I have self-published both non-fiction and poetry books in the past and truly enjoyed the experience.  I have been with BWL Publishing Inc. since 2017 and to date I have published fifteen books with them, with more to be released in 2024, etc. Jude Pittman, vice-president and publisher of BWL, is a devoted and tireless worker on behalf of her large family of authors, as well as an accomplished author herself.

 

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?

For my first few novels I wrote the entire first draft by hand. Yellow pad and lots of fine point pens. As for the where, besides the haymow, I wrote overlooking a lake in a little think tank built especially for me for that purpose. Now I work almost exclusively on my desktop computer, because it’s just faster. I sometimes listen to music while I write, to help set a particular mood, but I usually prefer silence. I like to write 8,000 words a day for eight or nine days, depending on the length of the manuscript and then I begin my absolute favourite part of the process, editing. I will reread a final manuscript at least a dozen times, sometimes more, and I like to write well in advance of my publication date so it will have time to set on the shelf and percolate before I look at it later with fresh eyes.

 

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?

I used to put a great deal of effort and time into creating a detailed outline for a book, only to have my characters take the story in a completely different direction. So now I basically let them go where they want, within the loose parameters of what I have in mind, and it always works. After all I suppose it’s their story, I just try to keep up. Many times I’ve been three or four lines away from the end of a chapter with absolutely no notion of how it will end and then poof, it comes to me and I’m in awe. Working out the final chapters of the book are like putting puzzle pieces together. It’s great fun, and I do my deep thinking about what goes where when I first wake up in the morning, or after I go to bed at night. In the darkness there are no distractions.  

 

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book? Do you try to write every day or carve out certain times during the week?

Marketing for me, and I think for many authors, is not an easy task or should I say a task that does not come easily - and not just because of time constraints. Certainly with the internet now it has likely never been easier to market a book, or offer greater potential. In my opinion marketing requires an author to put on an entirely different hat, unless you’re one of those people who are a lucky blend of introvert and extrovert. I am an introvert by nature and it can be difficult to put myself out there, although you do what has to be done. It’s true when you’re writing a new book, which requires dedicated focus, it’s hard to switch gears and think about another book. So yes it can be a challenge to juggle the two.

 

I am writing every day on one thing or another. When I’m writing a book I have at it until it’s done. I sleep, eat and breathe the story – wear it – and then I’m done and move on to what’s next.

 

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?

 

By far the most important piece of advice I would give is hire a good editor. Period. It’ll be the smartest money you’ll ever spend if you believe in the success of your project. You are not the best judge of your own work in that regard, it needs a different pair of eyes – professional, trained eyes who can take what you write and make it better. So many new authors think what they’ve written is almost divinely sent and perfection should not be tampered with. I’ve interviewed hundreds of authors and there were some with self-published books that had obvious potential, had they just had a good editor.

 

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?

Well reading of course would be one. I couldn’t stand not having a book to read. I have a passion for nature and spend a lot of time there. I love the first snow of the season so I can see animal tracks – what’s living around me. I love photography, and I have a passion for fabric, colours, and thinking about what to create with it.

 

Some fun facts about you, which do you prefer – dogs or cats? Chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or tea? Talk or text? Day or night?

I’m smiling as I answer this question because maybe I’m learning something about myself. Maybe I’m not good at making decisions because I love both dogs (non-aggressive ones) and cats, with a strong lean towards cats. And when it comes to ice cream I’m a two-scooper so I would get one of each, chocolate and vanilla. On rare three-scoop occasions I’d get mango in the middle. I’ve tried coffee and it’s okay, and I would only drink tea if it’s red – or mint, never black or green. Talk or text? Depends on my mood and whether I have a lot to say. Day or night? I like both although I’m an early bird with occasional night owl leanings. So it’s still dark when I get up at 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. The rooster and I used to be on the same schedule. I like the cool blush of early morning and the dark magic of midnight. However I do not like the afternoon hours between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. I detest that time of day, and on that I’m very decisive.

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Eden Monroe writes about real life, real issues and struggles, and triumphing against all odds. A proud east coast Canadian, she enjoys a variety of outdoor activities, and a good book.

 

https://edenmonroeauthor.com/

 

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEdenMonroe/ 

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