Today we have S.E. Babin on the blog! She’s here to answer a few questions alongside the release of Book Club Bait & Switch, the newest book in her Shelf Indulgence Cozy Mystery series!
Welcome! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what got you into writing? Of course! Before I was seriously writing, I served in the military for fifteen years. I worked in a few fields in the Air Force, but for most of my career I was an education and training manager, followed by a recruiter. Once the writing bug became too itchy to ignore, I separated and started writing legal blogs while penning fiction on the side.
Are there any books that have really influenced you as a writer? My true first loves are paranormal stories. I love strong female character driven mysteries and urban fantasy, so I have to say anything by Ilona Andrews or K.F. Breene.
What do you enjoy most about writing cozy mysteries? They’re just fun to write. I can do all sorts of wacky things and have a lot of fun with cozy mysteries, and my main character gets to have a cool cozy hobby or job.
What inspired this series? I always wanted to write something set in a bookstore. When I was brainstorming this, someone suggested I combine the bookstore with a tech café. Considering I only use my computer for surfing Etsy, Poshmark, and writing books, and I still don’t know how a personal hotspot works, I was not super into that idea. So Tattered Pages became just what it was—a cool bookstore with a grumpy cat.
What inspired this book in particular? I wanted to throw my main character, Dakota, into a space surrounded by people she would never hang out with in real life. And then, as one does, I had to kill someone to make it even harder on her.
Can you tell us about your writing space? Where do you do most of your writing? My upstairs office is dark green with dark blue bookshelves, crammed to the gills with literature. I also have a fondness for an obnoxious, oversized, mustard yellow chair with an ottoman I bought on sale several months ago. I’m sitting in it now, and I’m pretty sure my husband hates it, but it’s one of my favorite things in the world.
What helps you when you have writers block? I am one of those writers who doesn’t really believe in writer’s block—just project block. If I’m not into what I’m writing, I pick up something else and work on it, or create outlines, or sketch notes for new projects I want to write. Eventually the words will come back, and I can focus again.
What are some things you are really enjoying reading right now? Books, TV, foods, etc.? I am really into The Rookie (which I binge watched), then went on to watch Castle. I’m on the second season now. I’m also reading the spin-off of Sam Quinn’s Slaughtered Lamb series from author Seana Kelley called The Sea Wicche Chronicles. I genuinely have no idea how Wicche is pronounced, but I say it as witch in my head.
I’m no slouch in the kitchen, but my husband is a much better cook than I am, so I’ll eat whatever he makes. I’ve been on a pretty tense deadline schedule lately, so he’s been manning the kitchen more than I have.
Want to know more about Book Club Bait & Switch?
A literary-themed vacation turns deadly during Dakota and Poppy’s final adventure…
After the hectic pace of wedding planning takes a toll, Hardy surprises Dakota with the trip of a lifetime. A rare manuscript is traveling across the country, with its final stop at the mansion of an eccentric, reclusive author.
Eight people are selected to hear the author’s final lecture, all cleared and vetted by private security. But someone in their midst is holding a grudge, and when Dakota accidentally witnesses the murder of a VIP guest, she quickly becomes hunted.
Locked in a mansion with Daniel, Hardy, and five other strangers, Dakota must piece together the clues to find out who could have committed such a crime and solve the murder before she becomes the next victim. But the clock is ticking, and as the puzzle pieces start locking in place, Dakota begins to wonder if the crime wasn’t one massive red herring to distract her from the murderer’s real target: Hardy.
Will Dakota and Hardy finally reach the altar, or is this their last adventure together?
Want to know more about S.E. Babin?
USA Today Bestselling author S.E. Babin is a mom, a wife, and a military veteran. She has a passion for writing books filled with heroines you’d like to sit down and drink too much wine with and heroes who love those kinds of girls. Whether it’s mystery, romantic comedy, or light urban fantasy, all of her books have a funny vein running through them. Life can be sad. Our books don’t have to be!
Babin has a Master of Fine Arts in Popular Fiction and Publishing from Emerson College and spends way too much time hanging out in libraries and bookstores.
You can find her on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub!
