Elizabeth asks Stella about A GRAVE MISTAKE

Elizabeth: Couldn't resist telling everyone what a treat is in store for them! All of your books are wonderful, and A GRAVE MISTAKE is too. I think you had a lot of fun writing this one!


Stella: How can you tell?

Elizabeth: The characters give you away every time.


Stella:

The moment those Toussaint people walk into my head, I smile. They just walk in and the story comes to life. All I’ve ever wanted as a writer is to tell stories that keep my fingers flying and keep readers turning the pages. My fingers didn’t get any rest between “events” in this book. Yes, I had a lot of fun with A GRAVE MISTAKE.

Elizabeth:

Jumping from one deep hole into ever deeper holes is what makes your books so good. Jilly and Guy get into some frightening, high stakes situations.

Stella:

Both emotional and physical stakes are high. That’s the way I like it–that’s what I read. Makes sense I write the type of story I read. Guy blames himself for the death of a woman he loved. He translates this into his not being a good bet for any woman–and makes the mistake of keeping Jilly hanging around, looking for a move from him, for too long. Jilly is no wishy-washy woman. She isn’t the type to throw up her hands without being certain there’s no future with Guy because she wants him–badly. She digs him out of semi-hiding and nails him with a great big, “Why?”

Jilly’s mother, who ducked out on her while Jilly was a small girl, shows up in Toussaint with arms wide, begging to be part of her daughter’s life. With Mom comes a seriously sleazy and disgustingly rich (is there such a thing?:) husband. These two have a strange setup, particularly in their household where Jilly’s new “Daddy” keeps his son and daughter-in-law in residence. Daddy is an antiques dealer in New Orleans, among other things it seems.

Guy wants to keep Jilly far away from the new family he thinks could be bad for her health but he doesn’t have the right to push this point of view. He pushes it anyway! And he may be right about Jilly entering a danger zone, but she longs for this long lost, mama of hers.

Sometimes, when someone wants something too badly to take a good look at the potential negatives as well as the positives, they cruise right into deep mud. Even dangerously deep mud.

Elizabeth:

Although Guy is on leave of absence from the homicide division of the New Orleans Police Department, he's still in detective mode to me. Especially when he’s says he never wants to go back. What's up with him?


Stella:

He’ll always be a lawman. We have to let him work out how he’ll pursue his passion for justice in the future.

He’s torn.

Elizabeth:

There are, as always, some really creepy villains on the hunt in Toussaint and New Orleans. People enjoy your villains and you enjoy writing them. So dish--why do you love villains?


Stella:

Playing with the darker side, the dangerous side, even the violent side is like entering an unknown world for me. Personally, I’m pretty passive. I think working with really bad characters is a rewarding challenge. This is part of my writing that excites me because I like drama and dealing with these people is high drama. Then there’s a second and even more compelling reason why I get into nasty characters; I get a chance to go for justice, at least for some people.

Elizabeth:

Tell me about your character, Wazoo, and about Father Cyrus and Madge. Cyrus and Madge are dangerous in a different way, and Wazoo is a real piece of work!

Stella:

Father Cyrus is the anchor in the Toussaint Series of Bayou Books. He climbed the stairs and appeared in an old building in New Orleans, in the book FRENCH QUARTER, and by the time the story was finished, I knew I would work with him again. At that point I didn’t know just how important he was meant to be. His relationship with Madge Pollard, who is his assistant at St. Cecil’s parish and who generally runs his life, is his nemesis. Just as he is hers. This is a teetering, forbidden almost- liaison that tiptoes on the lip of disaster. They are honorable people. But they also love each other deeply and it only becomes more difficult for them to be in the same place at the same time for so much of their lives.

Wazoo (L’Oisseau de Nuit--night bird) keeps me hopping, constantly. She says and does outrageous things. She dabbles in voodoo, mixes a mean potion and is definitely clairvoyant. If she could only zip her mouth now and then she wouldn’t get into such trouble, but turning into a good little girl isn’t in her future. She apparently despises Cyrus (God-man as she calls him) and keeps him at a distance–at least until she gives in to the wisdom of shared concerns and shared talents. And she can be bowled over by a strong man. Cyrus is very strong.

Elizabeth:

How would you sum up A GRAVE MISTAKE?

Stella:

It’s not over till it’s over and there are a lot of moments when even I was afraid of the ending. A kind of tenderness that isn’t mush. A chance to see through the eyes of a bunch of strong people, some of whom have won their strength by overcoming insecurity, and some who were just born tough. A passionate stomp from one waiting pitfall to the next while the prize-–good outdoing evil, or at least keeping it in check-–seems as if it may always be just out of reach. And people who mess with your mind and your feelings–and make you care.

Elizabeth:

Wonderful insights into a wonderful book! A GRAVE MISTAKE is a wonderful read waiting for eager readers. So strap on your high heels, skate boards, sh!t kickers, and get to your favorite bookstore for your copy. Or boot up and go on the Internet. One for yourself and a bunch for surprise, I-like-you gifts for friends. :-)

You can't go wrong!