**Author Peek** Interview with Christine Goff
**Author Peek** Interview with
CHRISTINE GOFF!
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INTRODUCING….Christine.
1. What genre(s) do you write and why?
I currently write in two genres—cozy and thriller. Talk about diverse. I published my first Birdwatcher’s Mystery series in 2000 and the 6th Book in that series came out in May, A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS. In 2015, I published my debut thriller, DARK WATERS, and I have a sequel due out in 2017. As for why I write both—I love the light side of the cozy. The humor and close-knit relationships. I like the genteel nature—no graphic sex, no swearing, no extreme violence. Then with the thriller I can go to the dark side.
2. If you were to choose one superpower, what would it be?
Man, you would ask that. It’s so hard. I guess I lean toward flying.
3. Do you ever get stuck when you’re writing a book? What do you do to get “unstuck”?
Yes, and I’m looking for suggestions. No, when I’m really stuck it’s usually because I’ve gone in the wrong direction somewhere. I generally try going back to the last place where I really felt good about the book and start over. Sometimes it’s been hundreds of pages back, but…you just have to do it!
4. What is your least favorite part of writing ?
Deadlines. At least I say that right now. I can tell you what I really love, and that’s revision. I really enjoy having a finished project that I can start to really mold and shape.
5. If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us?
Steak, salad and roasted potatoes—unless you’re vegetarian. Then, I’d make a vegetable wheel (I learned how watching Rachel Rae one day when I was avoiding writing), and salad. I always serve some type of fruit for dessert. Maybe poor man’s peach cobbler or strawberries over Angel Food cake.
6. What is your typical day like ?
I’m an early riser. I get a cup of coffee first thing and turn on the news. Then I read the local paper, do the crossword puzzle and try to be at my desk by 8:00 a.m. I work until lunchtime (my husband has taken to popping home from work now that his office is 3 minutes away), and we talk while we eat. Then it’s back to my computer until Jeopardy comes on at 4:00 p.m. Sometimes I’ll tape it and keep working. Sometimes I’ll quit working earlier and go back to work in the evening. I usually spend the hours from dinner until bedtime with my husband. Then, if I have the urge, sometimes I’ll send him off to bed and go back to work. I really only sleep about 6 or 7 hours a night. Any more than that and I’m tired all day.
7. What is most difficult for you to write? Characters, conflict or emotions? Why?
Emotions, and I’m not sure why. Maybe because when I write I tend to try and put myself in my characters shoes and it can be scary to dig too deep. Sometimes it feels too sappy. And love scenes – maybe that’s why I write cozies and thrillers. In cozies the sex is way off-stage and in thrillers there’s barely time.
8. A penguin walks into your office, right now, wearing a sombrero. What does he say to you and why is he here?
“Hola, Amiga, what happened to the snow?” It seems the little fellow had taken a wrong turn in the Antarctica during migration. It happens, especially when it coincides with storms and freakish weather patterns. In the birding world it’s called a “fallout.”
9. If you could wave a magic wand, what ill in the world would you solve and why?
Oh my gosh, I have to pick one? I guess I would pick world hunger. There are just way too many people in the world who go to sleep hungry every night.
10. Tell us about your next book & when is it being published?
A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS has just been out a month and I’m just wrapping up the second book in my International thriller series. The title of the new book is RED SKY and it’s due out in 2017. The book opens with my Diplomatic Security Service agent at the scene of a plane crash in Ukraine searching the wreckage for a Diplomatic Courier, who is known to have been on board escorting a fugitive back to the U. S. to stand trial. Of course, it’s what she discovers that spins the story. Then it’s a matter of who wants what first. If the Birdwatcher’s Mysteries are doing well I have a story idea for one that takes place near the Four Corners area of Colorado—working title DEATH OF A SOUTHWESTERN FLYCATCHER.
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Be sure to come back to read more about Christine and her book, A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS, A Birdwatcher’s Mystery series, Book #6, on Wednesday’s Karen’s Killer Book Bench. Happy Reading!
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Links to Christine’s website, blog, books, etc.
BOOK INFORMATION:
TITLE – A Parliament of Owls
SERIES (& Book #) – A Birdwatcher’s Mystery series, Book #6
AUTHOR – Christine Goff
GENRE – Cozy Mystery
PUBLICATION DATE – May 11, 2016
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 158 PAGES/52,000
PUBLISHER – Astor+Blue Editions
COVER DESIGN – Didier Meresse, Kate Murphy
OTHER BOOKS IN THE BIRDWATCHER’S MYSTERY SERIES:
A Rant of Ravens – Book #1
Death of a Songbird – Book #2
A Nest in the Ashes – Book #3
Death Takes a Gander – Book #4
A Sacrifice of Buntings – Book #5
Links to Christine’s website, blog, books, etc.
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1rdp73L
B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-parliament-of-owls-christine-goff/1121371896?ean=9781941286623
Tattered Cover Book Store:
http://www.tatteredcover.com/search/site/a%20parliament%20of%20owls
IndieBound:
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781941286623
Dark Waters by Chris Goff (Kindle):
http://amzn.to/1ZyEVK8
Dark Waters by Chris Goff (paperback):
http://amzn.to/1TZkI1V
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Christine is giving away one signed copy or an e-book copy (reader’s choice) of A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS to one lucky reader who comments on this Author Peek or Karen’s Killer Book Bench blogs. Thank you, Christine, for sharing your story with us.
Don’t miss the chance to read these books!
