Interview with mystery author Robin Jeffrey

Today’s special author guest is Robin Jeffrey and we’re chatting about her newest novel, .exe: A Cadence Turing Mystery.

During the virtual book tour, there will be 6 prize winners (US residents only)!
– 2 physical copies of .exe: A Cadence Turing Mystery
– 2 Kindle ebook copies of .exe: A Cadence Turing Mystery
– 2 Audible audiobook copies of .exe: A Cadence Turing Mystery

You can enter to win using this link.

 

Bio:
When Robin Jeffrey isn’t checking out books to students at the college library where she works, she can be found cranking out punchy flash fiction, lyrical essays, and world-rich novels. Her writing has been published in magazines across the country and around the world. She currently calls Bremerton, Washington home, where she lives happily with her husband and their out-of-control comic book collection. For more information about Robin and her work, sign up for her newsletter on her website, RobinJeffreyAuthor.com.

Welcome, Robin. Please tell us about your current release.
Chance Hale is more interested in running around with fascinating women than following in his father’s footsteps as head of the billion-dollar tech company Halcyon Enterprises. Called home for an important announcement, Chance seeks to liven up the weekend retreat by bringing along the first interesting woman he finds: an alluring young lady named Cadence Turing, who claims to be visiting his home planet Arrhidaeus from the planet Paraesepe. But when someone turns up murdered, all evidence points to Chance and all ideas of a future for him are erased. Of all the house’s guests, his weekend companion seems to believe she can prove his innocence, though she’s hesitant to admit how. Can the two put their differences aside and help each other before it’s too late?

What inspired you to write this book?
I love playing around with what I feel like is the central question of science fiction: what does it mean to be human? But I also love mysteries and the way they center on the complex relationships between people. The challenge of writing something that combined these two concepts was super engaging and I think it worked out very well!

 

Excerpt from .exe: A Cadence Turing Mystery:
My father rose to his feet with a roar. “Absolutely damnable!” He wiggled his way out from behind the table and limped towards the door.

Solomon stood and started to follow him. “Felix, what are you doing?”

“Calling the Enforcement Office, damn it all!” My father waved his cane in the air. “Before the sneak thief can get any more distance on us!”

My father missed careening into Cadence by sheer luck, wheeling past her through the door on one leg. She staggered back to avoid the collision and waited a moment before sticking her head around the door and walking to me, a question in her inky eyes. “Has something happened?”

I shook my head, wanting to laugh but not sure why. “We’ve been robbed! The Negrescu Necklace’s been stolen!”

Cadence’s jaw dropped and she leaned towards me, grabbing my arm. “Are you sure?”

“Father’s gone to call the EO now.”

Her nails dug into me. “Enforcement Officers? Here?”

The fear in Cadence’s voice made the hair on the back of my neck bristle. I grabbed her hand and pulled it from my aching appendage.

 

What exciting story are you working on next?
Right now, I have a couple of irons in the fire! I’m of course working on the next book in the Cadence Turing Mystery series, which I hope to have ready to publish this year. But I’m also working on an urban fantasy book, heavy on the mystery and chock-a-block full of snarling werewolves

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
The first time I put my writing out into the world for other people to read, I started to think of myself as a writer. I was probably thirteen? Needless to say it wasn’t my best work, but I’ve only grown in talent, experience, and love for the craft since then. I’ve never looked back and wished I’d chosen a different label for myself, ever.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I do not write full-time! For my ‘day job’, I work as a librarian at a local community college. Librarianship is the third love of my life (the first being my husband, my second being writing) and I honestly can’t imagine ever stopping completely. I find time to write by taking advantage of every opportunity to fit in a few hundred words. I rarely sit down and write pages at a stretch, but somehow, the manuscript still gets done!

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I habitually write nothing but dialogue first. For pages at a time. I’ll just write dialogue, with no description, or speech tags, or anything. Then I’ll go back and fill everything else in. I don’t know why I do this. But I often feel like I hear a scene before anything else.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I went through a few distinct aspirational phrases: I wanted to be a vet, then an Egyptologist, and then a writer and a librarian. Achievement unlocked!

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I really appreciate everyone who picks up this book and gives it a chance – an author without an audience is a lonely creature indeed. If you’d like to reach out and let me know what you thought of the book, please feel free to do so! I’m always up for chatting about my work and books in general!

Links:
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