Julie Carobini Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I’m a writer, editor and beachcomber living on the coast of California with my husband, Dan. We have three children, but suddenly they are all adults. Not sure how that happened so fast!

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. When I managed a candy and ice cream store and kept a writing pad beneath the register to scribble down stories during down times.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?
A. After my son was born, I poured out my angst about motherhood into an essay…and it was funny. That story—Baby, Cordless Phone, and Me—was published by Expecting Magazine (an offshoot of Parenting, but for expectant mothers) three times because of their rapidly changing readership ?. He’s 25 now, and since then I went on to ghostwrite for executives in the banking industry, write for dozens of magazines under my own name, write five traditionally published novels and five (so far!) indie books.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release All Was Calm?
A: All Was Calm is Book 2 in my Cottage Grove Mystery series and the title is a play on the lyrics of Silent Night. The first book, The Christmas Thief, was published in 2016 and featured a young woman named Tasha who had run away to northern California only to be plopped into the middle of a quirky, meddling town, a budding romance—and crime. All Was Calm picks up a year later when the town’s new camp director is found poisoned to death, and Lorena—the camp cook and Tasha’s best friend—is a suspect. After Tasha’s own brush with death the year before, she had promised her boyfriend, Marc, to stay far away from sleuthing. But with Marc out of town, and all eyes on Lorena, what choice does Tasha have? With Christmas coming, and a criminal on the loose, Tasha tries to solve the mystery … before the killer strikes again.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for All Was Calm?
A: I inhaled Nancy Drew stories as a kid, and eventually read all of my mother’s copies of Mary Stuart and Agatha Christie novels. Even though I mainly write romance now, mystery is in my blood! So when I went to work on the second of my Cottage Grove Mysteries, I found myself wanting to write a good, ol’ small town mystery—with a heroine who can’t help but sniff around the crime scene ?

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: The bonds of friendship of the people of Cottage Grove.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?
A: I love ensemble casts in books, movies, TV shows and plays, so the second to the last scene, which takes place with many characters, is one of my favorites.

Q: What inspires you to write?
A. I’m inspired by life, specifically quirky people and their stranger-than-fiction stories. I’m also inspired by the beach and romance and the layers of secrets we all keep from each other. As a writer, I want to expose those!

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?
A: Once I sold my first book, I thought the writing life would be easier. It’s not. Instead I now know that publishing is ever changing and that if I want to stay in this world, I need to adapt and adjust in order to reach readers—both new and those I’ve bonded with over the years. I’ve now experienced the writing world as a traditionally published author, a freelance editor, an in-house editor, and most recently, as an indie author. It’s never boring—that’s for sure ?

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?
A: If you love it, do it. Find a few readers to give you honest feedback, but don’t rely on just one. Yes, learn the craft (be willing to edit!), but don’t kill your voice because of a little negative feedback. I’m so grateful to some of my favorite authors who faced rejection and never gave up. They’ve given me hours of entertainment!

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. Right now I am working on two projects. The first is a guidebook for first-time indie authors. The second project is book 2 in my Sea Glass Inn series called Runaway Tide (Book 1 of the series, Walking on Sea Glass, released in May 2016).

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?
A. Go to the beach

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?
A. I’m all over the place! Find me at www.juliecarobini.com (my fiction site), www.indieauthorlifeline.com (this one is in its infancy, but will be choc-full of info soon), and I am also on Facebook and Twitter. Always love connecting with readers!

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?
A. Thanks so much for having me, Susan. And Merry Christmas, Everyone!