Featured Interview With Teresa Watson
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born on an Army base in Washington State, but I have spent most of my life bouncing between Texas and New Mexico. Currently, I live just south of Dallas, a Washington Redskins fan in an ocean of Cowboys fans. I wear several hats: wife of a misguided Cowboys fan, mother of a wonderful young man, daughter of a wonderful woman, sister of a nutcase, friend to many, protector of stray kids who have crossed our threshold over the years. Alas, no pets due to my son being allergic to just about every cat and dog known to man.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Fifth grade was when I became really interested in reading and writing. My parents gave me “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, and this is still my absolute favorite book (and I still have the book they gave me). I wrote my first story on the back of my homework papers, also in the fifth grade. It was a time traveling story. However, it soon became fodder for a landfill; my mother threw it out. She is still my harshest critic and one of my editors. If it’s not Mother approved, it doesn’t make it into a story. In fact, there was a recurring character in my Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries series that she didn’t like (but everyone else did). By the fifth book, Mother said she had to go. Whenever someone asks why I killed the character off, I simply say, “Mother signed her death warrant.”
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite genre is mysteries. I started out reading Nancy Drew, graduated to Agatha Christie, and on from there. My mother and I enjoy the same authors, so we’re always exchanging books. Some of our favorites are Cleo Coyle, Janet Evanovich, Ellery Adams, Jennie Bentley, LynDee Walker, oh gosh, I don’t think you want the WHOLE list! But I also enjoy suspenseful thrillers, like Brad Thor, David Baldacci, and Steve Berry. My late father got me hooked on those, so like my mother, he and I would also exchange books. I read books like people drink coffee. If I’m not writing, I’m reading, and can go through two or three books in a day.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is the second one in my Ghostwriter series, “Who Invited the Ghost to Dinner?”, which should be ready for release by February 1st. Cam Shaw is hoping that her ability to talk to ghosts is a one and done deal. She would prefer to be a ghostwriter for real people instead of having to deal with pushy ghosts who want her to solve their murders. But unfortunately, she’s managed to catch the attention of two ghosts this time: one who claims to have worked for the mob, and another one who might have been killed because of her husband’s connections to the mob. Cam, her boyfriend Chief Mike Penhall, her best friend Randy Scott, and the rest of the gang work together to find out the connection of these old murders to two new ones that have happened. Who is trying to wipe out the Ingram family? And just how long is Cam going to be stuck with this wisecracking mob ghost?
This one took several months to write, and it was really a labor of love in a way. The characters of Grandma Alma and Cam’s parents are based on my own grandmother and parents. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away in January 2015 at the age of 96, and my father, very unexpectedly, passed away six days later at the age of 70. I decided to feature Grandma Alma and Cam’s dad more in this story, which I did, although not as much as I would have liked. My grandmother was a heck of a woman, and while she wasn’t a poker player like Grandma Alma, I decided to make sure that her character had a heck of a lot of fun (my mother approves!). And yes, one of her middle names was really Alma, like the character. As for Cam’s father (also named Jim like my dad), he is just like Dad. Loving and kind, a retired minister, a Vietnam veteran who served as a chaplain’s assistant, Dad was a wonderful man. And some of the things Cam’s father says in the story are things that my dad said to me (include the comments about using a weed eater to cut my hair; Dad was always offering to cut off my ponytail!). While Grandma and Dad are gone now, they will live on in the Ghostwriter stories.
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