Eileen Hammond is the acclaimed author of the Merry March Cozy Mystery Series. Following the release of her latest book, Murder So Fiendish, What We Reading sat down with Eileen to talk about everything from her career as a mystery novelist, the challenges of marketing and how Twitter challenges are helping her hone her craft!
Thanks for speaking with us, Eileen! First off, tell us a bit about yourself and what led you to the world of writing.
Thanks for the opportunity! I’ve always been a voracious reader, and when I retired early from my day job, I decided to try writing a cozy mystery. Even though I’d always written throughout the years, most of it had been corporate memos, emails, and presentations. Writing a fiction novel was quite a change.
Talk to us about Murder So Sinful. It’s the first entry in your Merry March Mysteries series, right?
That’s correct. Since novels thrive on conflict, I decided to have my main character be a single mother of a 17-year-old. In addition, her ex is an imprisoned con man who defrauded many of the people in their small town. That was even more problematic because Merry owns an insurance business, which requires trust.
In the first book, Murder So Sinful, Merry’s best friend decides it’s time for Merry to start dating again, so she plays matchmaker. Unfortunately, the eligible prospects become suspects in a murder investigation.
What is the number one goal you want the book and the series to have with readers?
My number one goal is for readers to enjoy the book. I want them to feel that they had just enough clues to figure out who the murderer was, but not so many that they figure it out too early. I also want them to identify with some of the characters and the problems they face.
What do you think makes you stand out as an author? Are you someone who throws themselves into the stories they write?
I put a lot of time into creating my characters, and I want them to be believable. There have been many mornings where I’ve cried, writing scenes because an adult reconnected with his birth mother, a beloved person was murdered, or a daughter made bad choices. I love to visualise my scenes as if they were actually happening, and I hope that description and emotion come through for my readers.
“I put a lot of time into creating my characters, and I want them to be believable. There have been many mornings where I’ve cried, writing scenes.”
Talk to us about one of your biggest successes so far.
As an independent writer, sometimes you wonder if you are as good as someone who is traditionally published. My books have now been chosen twice for the highly competitive Ohioana Book Festival (authors having connections to Ohio), and in both cases, I’ve been asked to be on one of their few panels. That made me feel good. I also love when readers leave comments, ratings, and reviews. It validates that all of the hard work is worth it.
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If you could go back in time to one book you read for the first time, what would it be and why?
“The Shipping News” by Annie Proulx. It’s the best book I’ve ever read, but it’s one that I don’t think you can read more than once (I tried). The author employs a very intricate literary device that makes the book extremely difficult to read for the first hundred or so pages. I almost gave up several times, but since it was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, I muscled through. In the end, I had a broad smile on my face. Magnificent. (And don’t see the movie and expect the same reaction – it doesn’t translate.)
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What do you think is the biggest obstacle facing independent and aspiring authors these days?
Differentiating yourself. Marketing is hard and that’s true whether you are independent or not. There are so many different social media platforms today, and if an author were to be truly active on all of them, they would not be writing their next book. I’ve heard from several different pundits to be on all of the platforms so that people can find you, but to only focus your efforts on one. Once a book is finished, authors need to promote it.
If you could go back in time and give your younger self one tip, what would it be?
Write. Write every day. Now, I create a micro-story from the daily #vss365 writing prompt on X (Twitter). It helps me build my writing muscle and enables me to try other genres than I am currently working on.
And finally, what do you hope the future holds for you and your writing?
I hope that I continue to improve my craft. I think that my latest book, “Murder So Fiendish,” is the best one I’ve written so far. I’m hard at work on my eighth Merry March mystery and am still finding opportunities in the growth of Merry’s character and that of the ancillary roles. I’m also exploring expanding my repertoire into other types of mysteries.
Check Eileen’s books or visit her on her website!
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
