Sunday, November 10, 2013

Mystery Author of the Month, Holli Castillo



I’d like to welcome mystery author, Holli Castillo. 


Patricia: Holli, where did you grow up? Did your childhood contribute to your desire to be a writer?

Holli: I grew up in the suburbs in what is considered the metro New Orleans area but is really just outside the city.  I have wanted to be a writer since I wrote my first story in kindergarten, when I was five.  I don’t know that anything significant in my childhood contributed to my desire to write, but my imagination was encouraged by my parents and my teachers.  If anything, the fact that my childhood was kind of mundane and boring made my imagination even wilder.  I wanted drama—I got decent to good grades, my parents weren’t divorced, my mother didn’t work, we had the normal pets.  I would create stories and scenarios for everyone I met. A car backfiring was a gunshot, a baby crying was being kidnapped. I hated normal.

Patricia: Where do you live now? Do you use that locale for settings in your novels?

Holli: I live pretty close to where I grew up, although I did live in different parts of New Orleans when I was in college and law school.  Everything I write is set in New Orleans.  At first I tried to avoid the cliché New Orleans settings, such as Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras, but one of the criticisms I received on my first novel was that there wasn’t enough New Orleans in it. I had New Orleans food, our dialect, areas of town in New Orleans, but I think people expect to see those clichés when the story is about New Orleans, so I’ve incorporated more of that in the second and third novels.

Patricia: What inspired you to write your most recent novel?

Holli: Hurricane Katrina inspired Chocolate City Justice.  I wrote the first novel, Gumbo Justice, prior to Katrina.  Before I got a contract, Katrina happened.  I stopped looking for an agent or publisher for a while after Katrina, trying to get everything back in order at home. During the interim, I started to think that maybe agents and publishers wouldn’t be interested in novels set pre-Katrina, so I had to make the choice of either updating the first novel to incorporate Katrina, or writing a whole new novel. I started working on Chocolate City Justice, planning to then make Gumbo Justice the second book in the series instead of the first, and Jambalaya Justice, which I had already started, the third, instead of the second. Before I got very far into it, I ended up getting a contract with Oak Tree Press on Gumbo Justice, so Chocolate City was put back in queue to be the third book.

Patricia: When did you “know” that you wanted to be a writer?

Holli: I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t feel like I could seriously consider it as a career until after I quit the New Orleans D.A.’s Office, where I was a prosecutor, to stay home after my daughter was born.  I ended up getting a position with an organization appointed to handle criminal appeals, a job I could do from home, and finally had the time to start writing. 

Patricia: Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery/suspense genre. What makes them your favorites?

Holli: John Sandford is one of my favorites, mostly because I am in love with Lucas Davenport.  Reading the Prey Series was one of the things that motivated me to finally start writing, so I owe a lot to John Sandford.   I also like Janet Evanovich, because I really like the interaction between Stephanie Plum, Ranger, and Joe Morelli. I also like the zaniness of her novels, although some of her plot devices are recycled from earlier works.  My third would be Tami Hoag, mostly for the dash of romance in her traditional thrillers and mysteries. 

Bio: 
Her first novel, Gumbo Justice, the 2011PSWA award winner for Best Published Novel,  was released by Oak Tree Press after being delayed when she was incapacitated for almost a year due to a head-on collision with a drunk driver. This was followed by the second in the Crescent City Mystery series, Jambalaya Justice, which received honors for best unpublished novel in the PSWA 2011 writing competition.  The third installment, Chocolate City Justice, is scheduled for release at the end of 2013.   Holli resides in the metropolitan New Orleans area with her husband, who is the model for Big Who in the series, her two daughters, two dogs, and two deaf cats, one of which is featured prominently in Jambalaya Justice
Holli Castillo is a Louisiana appellate public defender and former New Orleans prosecutor.

Purchase Links:
or purchase signed copies at

Holli is offering a giveaway of both Gumbo Justice and Jambalaya Justice to one person drawn randomly from anyone who leaves a comment at the end of the interview.

 


19 comments:

  1. A pleasure to meet you, Holli, and your Crescent City mystery series sounds fascinating. What a great setting New Orleans has been and is for fiction. I'm thinking Tennessee Williams, James Lee Burke, Anne Rice, and now Holli Castillo.

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  2. Holli, I loved the first two and anxiously awaiting #3.

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  3. I remember a blog you wrote a very long time ago about your reactions to Katrina. I was taken with your writing them and when Gumbo Justice came out I read it. I wasn't disappointed. I have your second novel but haven't had a chance to read it yet. I will get to it, and look forward to your third. Terrific interview!
    Marja McGraw

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  4. John, Tennessee Williams is of course one of my favorites, but don't forget John Kennedy Toole, a Confederacy of Dunces, which is probably one of the best N.O. books ever written. Unfortunately it didn't get published until after he committed suicide, but it offers a great bird's eye view of New Orleans. Thanks Marilyn and Marja. I'm also a fan of both of you and your works.

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  5. This is really an interesting interview, Holli. I so enjoyed learning lots more about you. I've been recuperating from knee surgery and reading OTP author's books, so I am certainly going to read yours. Wow, a head-on collision must have been one horrendous event to have had to deal with. I admire your decision to continue writing after that.

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  6. Holli I just want to say your novels sound intriguing! Can't wait to read them!

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  7. Look forward to Chocolate City, Holli. This is a terrific crime series you have!

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  8. Jackie, Lynda and Joe, thanks for the comments. I'm still working on Chocolate City, hopefully I will be on target for year's end.

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  9. Nice to learn more about you and your books in Patricia's blog, Holli. I love the titles and the New Orleans setting and, as soon as possible, I'm be reading the books and sending you fan letters.

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  10. I always enjoy finding a new author. After reading this post I am looking forward to reading your books.

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  11. I would love to win. I moved to Louisiana 20 years ago. I love mysteries and would love to read your books. A lot of people came here, (Lafayette) when Katrina happened. Such a sad time. So glad to get to know you a little bit and looking forward to reading your series. :)

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  12. Eilene and Grandmareads, thanks for joining us. Tonya, I have family in Lafayette. In fact, my cousin and her father, my uncle, lived in Lafayette with their families and both passed away from different forms of cancer around Christmas last year. We visit as much as we can, so we're familiar with the area. What is even sadder is that my cousin had finished writing an excellent vampire young adult novel before she died but never got on to the next step of getting it published, so I am going to work on editing it for her and then help her husband to get it put on Kindle. She was a high school English teacher and I think it would go a long way to helping her students heal if they could read her book. Thanks for commenting!

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  13. Sounds like a fascinating series, Holli. I imagine reading a pre-Katrina book and then one post-Katrina in the same series would be something of an eye-opener on how the storm affected people, so I'm glad you kept them as originally planned. I look forward to adding this series to my "mysteries read" pile.

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  14. Holli, I've been seeing your name everywhere lately. I absolutely love the names of your books. I'm putting them on my TBR list! Best of luck!

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  15. Claire and amreade, thanks! Moving the series into post-Katrina was a decision the storm really made for me--while it made me rethink some of the things I had planned for the characters and plot lines, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I think the third book taking place during Katrina is going to add so much to the series, as well as the nightmare that came after, not only in terms of personal lives, but as far as how things changed as far as prosecution and police work. Thanks again!

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  16. I've read several postings about Holli recently. I enjoyed this posting. After I read the free copy I'm sure to win, I will buy the other.

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  17. Love Holli's books and can't wait for Chocolate City Justice!!! Nice interview Holli!

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  18. Holli,
    Congrats on getting better after your collision and finishing your first two books and for working on the last. What dedication! Guess you finally got some of that drama you were craving from your childhood? Your books sound WONDERFUL! I would love to win one! I've never been to New Orleans, but the setting sounds perfect for a crime novel. Again, I'm thrilled you are better and are writing! God Bless!

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  19. George, Susan, and Diane, thanks for visiting. I'll draw a name tomorrow and contact the winner. Good luck to everyone and thanks!

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