A BRIEF DISCUSSION WITH LINDA MATHER
Hello, it’s Linda Mather here! I’m especially excited because I can now reveal the brand-new covers for the Jo and Macy Mysteries. I hope you love them as much as I do.
Writing my books and getting to tell readers about the inspiration behind them is a real joy. I like to write about people who are believable, warm and flawed, and that’s how my protagonist Jo stepped straight into my imagination. It was this spark that led to the creation of the Jo and Macy Mystery series. Jo wants to be a professional astrologer, and in the first book, Forecast Murder, only takes on the private investigator role to pay the bills. I understood this well, as I always wanted to write but also had to earn some hard cash. But six books later, I have now fulfilled my dream and write full time.
The atmosphere, echoes and the feel of a place often give me the theme of a story. The Jo and Macy Mysteries are set in the West Midlands and Cotswolds, and the latest book, The Perfect House for Murder, was inspired by the canals near where I live in Worcestershire. The idea came to me in lockdown during many canal walks. Everything looks so pretty and perfect that it seems as if nothing bad could ever happen there. I saw that as a challenge!
Lately I have been inspired by the secrets and mysteries of the New Forest and I am writing the first in a police thriller series set there. I am delighted to have signed a three-book contract with Joffe Books and, as you already know that place is important to me, it won’t surprise you that I’m spending my weekends researching in the New Forest. Readers of the Jo and Macy Mysteries will find similar intriguing relationships and twisty plots when they are published next year.
The Perfect House for Murder is the sixth book in the Jo and Macy Mystery series, all published by Joffe Books and available on Amazon. I am also planning my next mystery, as nothing gives me more pleasure than to write every day and to know that readers love the stories.