Lesley A Diehl, author of Claws for Concern, the latest novel in the Maddie Sparks mysteries series, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today.

Welcome, Lesley.

Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.

Claws for Concern is the third novel in the Maddie Sparks mysteries. The series features Maddie Sparks, a woman somewhere over seventy (she won’t say how much over!) who works with her partner, Zack Montgomery, an ex-county sheriff, in his private detective agency. In this third book of the series, Maddie’s younger son is accused of murdering one of his clients. To identify the killer, Maddie finds she must explore her son’s past friendships and find the old classmate that hates her son enough to murder his client and pin the killing on him.

Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?

I often think about my old high school classmates and wonder how they’re changed over the years. At a class reunion, it became clear that most of the past animosities were gone, swept away by time, the fading of memories and the intervening lives that we live. However, I also wondered if some individuals could hold on to strong feelings especially those that began much earlier in their lives such as rejection by a parent followed by rejections by friends. Could such an early emotional assault set an individual up to process the typical events of childhood and adolescence as repeated insults to self-worth that might breed anger and hatred leading to self-loathing and then to murder? In most cases, the answer would be no, but what about this one case? Therein begins one friend’s determination to punish those who wronged her, past and present and the idea for a central event in Claws for Concern.

Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?

In all my cozy mysteries, murder is always personal, and often the motivation for it lies in family issues because families always mean strong feelings, often of love, sometimes of love rejected, sibling rivalry, competition, a search for independence from parents and other emotions that arise out of close relationships that are long term and that continue through the stages of children’s lives as they grow into adults. The dysfunctional family is a favourite topic in many British mysteries, which I love because the search for the killer is so internal to the family dynamics. Not only is there a poignancy associated with the murderer who is a family member, but the family members and friends also are wounded by the identity of the killer. The ties between victim and perpetrator are strong, the tension compelling. Although my mysteries are cozy, family dynamics always play a part.

How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?

In many ways my characters parallel my own life, not so much in terms of events or personality, but certainly age. I began writing when I was middle aged and so were my protagonists. Now that I am older, so is my recent protagonist, Maddie Sparks. Along with being a woman of a certain age, Maddie also shares with me her passion for writing, her love of a man who came into her life when she was older, a rescue cat, and life in a small village in Upstate New York. Like Maddie Sparks, I too have fallen in love with Zack Montgomery, the man she’s to marry. I loved writing the character of Jane, Maddie’s best friend because Jane is so sassy, so full of ideas and so certain her plans will work out, even if often they don’t. Jane is never deterred by reality. There is a special place in my heart for Spike, Maddie’s rescue cat who often manages to help bring the murderer to justice simply by being catlike. I’ve always had cats in my life, but the current feline member of our family is special. She’s a rescued tuxedo who came into our home to be a foster and has stayed permanently. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?

The village that Maddie has lived in for most of her adult life is modelled on the place where my husband and I live. It is not a carbon copy of our village, but close enough that I only have to describe its location in a river valley, the stream, woods and pastures nearby and the resilient people who choose to live in a place where you have to drive up a mountain to get to a place to buy groceries and other supplies. It becomes difficult in winter as Maddie learns when she decides to drive her friend Jane to a nearby city and an unexpected snowstorm rolls in. And like my village, Maddie’s is lovely in any season—summer hiking, raking leaves on a warm day in the fall, cuddling next to a fire on a cold winter’s day with someone you love, and welcoming the different hues of green as spring takes a hold of the land with iris, lilacs and daffodils in bloom.

What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?

There is no formal research that goes into my work, only a long life lived fully embracing the people I’ve known and the rural life I’ve loved.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?

I have enjoyed writing this series and hope readers find it funny and the characters charming. The setting, including Maddie’s cottage and Maddie herself, is close to my heart because it springs from my own life in a small Upstate New York Village (not that we get many murders here!). Maddie is a role model for all mature women who aren’t content to sit and watch the world go by but want to engage with it and make an impact on it. Maddie thought love had passed her by, but she discovered she was wrong when she met Zack Montgomery who not only filled her heart but was the inspiration for her new adventure writing romance novels. While her snoopiness may annoy and sometimes terrify him as they pursue a killer, he admires and respects her mind. Plus, he is one handsome dude. Who wouldn’t want a life like Maddie’s?

Thank you for answering my questions, Lesley, and good luck with Claws for Concern, the latest book in the Maddie Sparks mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Lesley A Diehl by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook, Goodreads and Amazon pages.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon      Barnes and Noble     Bookshop

About Lesley A Diehl: Cows, Lesley learned growing up on a farm, have a twisted sense of humor. They chased her when she herded them in for milking, and one ate the lovely red mitten her grandmother knitted for her. Determining that agriculture wasn’t a good career choice, instead, she uses her country roots and her training as a psychologist to concoct stories designed to make people laugh in the face of murder. Unusual protagonists appear in many of Lesley’s works, including Desdemona, the crime-fighting potbellied pig, a hobo turned county sheriff and Lesley’s zany back-home-on-the-farm relatives (The Killer Wore Cranberry, all six anthologies). She is the author of several cozy mystery series (The Eve Appel Mysteries, Laura Murphy Mysteries, The Big Lake Murder Mysteries and her newest from Camel Press, Maddie Sparks Mysteries, featuring a senior sleuth and her rescue cat). Her cozy mysteries have won several Readers’ Favorite Awards and a short story Sleuthfest Award.