Author Interview: Suzanne Adair

Happy Friday, Writing Desk Readers!

I hope everyone enjoyed this week's What Am I Reading Wednesday selection, the upcoming novel Killer Debt by Suzanne Adair.

In this month's author interview, Suzanne and I will dig deeper into why she chose the Revolutionary War era as the setting for this series, and much more!

Photo provided by: Suzanne Adair

Writing Desk Blog: You’re preparing for the release of the fourth novel in your Michael Stoddard series, Killer Debt. Can you tell me the expected publication date? Do you have any special events/programs planned for the book release?

Suzanne Adair: Killer Debt will be released 9 May 2018 after a crowdfunding campaign during the month of March on Indiegogo to give visibility to the history and the series and reach more readers. I have a number of online and in-person events planned for March, April, and May to support both the crowdfunding campaign and the book release. Please check my author calendar for more information.

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WDB: For those who aren’t already familiar with your work, if you could describe the Michael Stoddard American Revolution series in one sentence what would it be?

SA: Frontier justice, redcoat-style in a detective series set in Revolutionary North Carolina.

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WDB: Has your experience as an author been primarily with traditional publishing, self-publishing, or a mixture of both? If the answer is both, is there one avenue of publishing you prefer over the other?

SA: A traditional, advance-and-royalties press published my “Mysteries of the American Revolution” trilogy. That press went out of business, and I’ve since self-published the “Michael Stoddard American Revolution Mysteries,” which were spun off the trilogy.

I enjoy writing (of course!) and editing as well as the marketing and promotional aspects of being an author. However the tasks a publisher must do (for example, setting up a book’s interior design) can be quite time consuming, and while they give me an appreciation for all that the job of a publisher entails, I prefer to be traditionally published and let a publisher spend the time on those tasks.

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WDB: You also have another series set in the Revolutionary War era, what makes that series different from Michael Stoddard?

SA: The “Mysteries of the American Revolution” trilogy (Paper Woman, The Blacksmith’s Daughter, Camp Follower) is set in various locations of the Southern theater of the Revolution, whereas the Michael Stoddard series is based almost entirely in North Carolina. In addition, the main character is a different civilian woman for each book of the trilogy, because I wanted to explore how war in eighteenth-century America affected middle-class and lower-class women. (And it wasn’t a picnic for them.)

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WDB: What inspired you to base your novels during this time period?

SA: Killer Debt is the fourth book of the Michael Stoddard American Revolution mysteries, with a projected six books total in the series. The setting is North Carolina, in the year 1781. Redcoats successfully occupied the town of Wilmington, North Carolina from January through November 1781. Nowhere in my American history classes was this victory for the Crown forces mentioned. Neither did North Carolina receive much attention when it came to the Revolutionary War—yet the occupation of Wilmington enabled the British to commandeer much of North Carolina and stall the war for almost a year. I wanted to explore this fascinating fact in fiction, in a series. Hence the Michael Stoddard American Revolution mysteries.

In addition, I'm always curious how people more than two hundred years in the past dealt with the kinds of issues that have clung to humanity all along. You know, the same old desires for money, power, and sex that fuel modern crimes we read about every day in the news. In Killer Debt, I decided to explore desperation and greed—and what happens to a man’s self-respect and sense of honor when he realizes that sometimes justice cannot be delivered unless you break the rules.

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WDB: Why did you choose to make Michael Stoddard a Redcoat, as opposed to a Patriot/Rebel?

SA: The rebel point of view has been explored so often in film, novels, and non-fiction that I’m not sure what more I could contribute to it. But step into the “enemy’s” boots, and your perspective shifts. You see the history from an angle that doesn’t involve tired clichés, and you gain new insights. You also realize that this character who wears the enemy’s colors is faced with the same dilemmas that you’ve faced and is making the same decisions (sometimes errors) that you make. Finally, you get around to asking yourself, “How different are we, really?” Which is the question I’d hoped you’d ask, since you’re curious about a redcoat protagonist.*

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WDB: Do you only write historical fiction, or are there other genres you enjoy exploring?

SA: I also write science fiction set in the 24th century and paranormal urban suspense.

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WDB: These next questions are ones I like to ask in each Writing Desk Blog interview, it’s so interesting to see the range of responses I get! 

Where do you typically work from? (Home, office, coffee shop, etc.) Is there anywhere you find you're more productive than other places?

SA: I work from a home office, where I’m highly productive.

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WDB: If you are able to tell us, what’s next for you after Killer Debt is released? Will we be seeing a continuation for Michael Stoddard, or do you have something else in the works?

SA: You’ll see Michael Stoddard in two more books after Killer Debt. However the fourth draft of book #1 of the science fiction series set in the 24th century will be claiming my attention this summer, as my editor has been champing at the bit to read it, and I need to diversify my offerings to readers.

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WDB: Something about you that people may be surprised to know?

SA: I’ve danced classical adult ballet for about forty years.

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A big thank you to Suzanne for joining me on The Writing Desk Blog this week! Suzanne's bio, as well as links to her official website and other resources, can be found in the What Am I Reading Wednesday post on Killer Debt.

Don't forget to check out Suzanne's crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, she's offering a list of fantastic perks to those who participate in the campaign!


*This particular question was originally answered in a Guest Post on Anne Bannon's blog.