Spotlight Saturday: Author Interview with Jackie Layton

Hi, again, Readers! I’m so pleased to have cozy mystery author, Jackie Layton, on the blog today! Like our last Saturday Spotlight author, Erin Clements, Jackie also lives in beautiful South Carolina and her work is heavily influenced by the Low Country. She’s one adventurous lady as well! Read on to find out more about Jackie and her work…

Welcome, Jackie! It’s great to talk with you today. Let’s talk reading first, and then we’ll dig into some questions about your work. The books we read when we’re young influence us so much. What are your favorite books from childhood, and why?

The Best Loved Doll by Rebecca Caudill was the first book I fell in love with. I discovered it at the library when I was six years old. I was able to keep it for two weeks but then had to return it. That library didn’t allow you to renew a book. So, each time we went to the library, it was the first book I looked for. After months of checking it out whenever I could, my mother bought me a copy. From this book I learned you didn’t have to be the best or prettiest doll. You just needed to be loved. There were life lessons in this love story between a girl and her doll.

In the fifth grade, I discovered Nancy Drew books at my grandmother’s house. I was soon hooked and read all the Nancy Drew books written at the time. I loved Nancy’s curiosity and bravery. I enjoyed the thrill of solving the mystery with Nancy and always looked forward to reading her next adventure. This began my love of reading mysteries.

Mysteries are so enjoyable, and cozy mysteries, especially (but I’m a little biased!). It amazes me how cozies can help you escape the current world at the same time they help you make sense of the current world. What books are on your nightstand (or in a Kindle queue) right now?

A Pairing to Die For by Kate Lansing, Assault and Beadery by Mollie Cox Bryan, Three Hours in Paris by Cara Black, and my Bible.

I’m scribbling down some of the fiction titles now, and the Bible is definitely an essential. Speaking of the Bible, do you have a “life verse” that’s significant to you? Do you find yourself exploring this theme often in your work?

In Bite the Dust, Andi Grace’s life verse is Isiah 1:17, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” After finding her first dead body, she sets out to seek justice for the victim, a dear friend of hers.

I’d say my life verse is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” When Andi Grace was eighteen, her parents died in a car crash. She gave up her dreams of college to stay home and raise her siblings, and her faith has given her strength to face life challenges.

Wow, how powerful! Your book sounds like such a compelling read. We already mentioned that you live in South Carolina. Is that where you grew up, and do you use this setting in your novels?

I grew up in Kentucky, and I’ve written one story set there. It was a romantic suspense and has never seen the light of day. I would like to write another story set in Kentucky one day.

My cozy mysteries are set on the coast of South Carolina in the fictional town of Heyward Beach. It’s a combination of some of my favorite beaches, including Holden Beach and Pawleys Island.

I just finished writing a book set in South Carolina– Charleston, to be specific–, and I definitely want to visit there now! I live in land-locked Missouri, so anything to do with the ocean or beach fascinates me. What do you love about the genre in which you write?

I write cozy mysteries, and I enjoy the relationships in the stories. With a cozy series, you don’t have to say goodbye to the characters. As a writer and reader, it’s fun to see where the relationships and how people grow. It’s also fun to lay out clues and red herrings. I always want to be fair to the reader, and I work hard to sprinkle in surprises as the amateur sleuth solves the mystery.

Yes, that’s a wonderful aspect of cozies– the community you can build over multiple books. I think cozies mesh well with Christian fiction, too, for that very reason. You have time to see the characters progress in their faith in an authentic way. That’s all the time we have today, but I know readers will want to know how to connect with you after the interview. Jackie, can you tell us where readers can find you online?

I can be found…

Website: https://jackielaytoncozyauthor.com/

Blog: http://jackiesbackporch.blogspot.com

Twitter: @Joyfuljel

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/JackieLaytonAuthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Joyfuljel

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jackielaytonauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackielaytonauthor

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Z8VsMp

Here’s the link to sign up for my newsletter: https://bit.ly/2WOPe42

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Thanks so much for joining me on the blog today, Jackie! It’s been great to have you here. Readers, if you’d like to check out Jackie’s current release, here’s the info!:

Bag of Bones is the third book in A Low Country Dog Walker Mystery series.

Does one good turn deserve a murder?

Despite all her good intentions to focus on a healthy lifestyle and leave crime solving to the professionals, Andi Grace Scott has run right smack into another investigation–literally. Who’d have thought caring for stray cats and a healthy morning beach run could lead to murder?

Andi Grace has found another body and a young woman who needs help. Solving this puzzle will come with a cost. This time, catching the killer will require Andi Grace to confront her past relationships and truths about her deceased mother.

Keep reading!

Shaen

*Photo by David Martin on Unsplash