Interview With Lauren Carr On “Kill And Run”

September 11, 2015 at 10:45 am | Posted in Books | Leave a comment
Tags: Author Interview

A Conversation with Author Lauren Carr: “Kill And Run” By Lauren Carr

1. Lauren, in your latest murder mystery, Kill and Run, you introduce your readers to a new detective team, Lieutenant Murphy Thornton, USN, and Jessica Faraday, heiress and daughter of multi-millionaire Mac Faraday, the protagonist of one of your other hit series, the Mac Faraday Mysteries. These newly wed characters have some notable differences from each other. What inspired you to pair these two characters?
LC: Actually, it was their differences that inspired me. While working on the plotline for Three Days to Forever, I knew that it was now time for readers to meet Mac Faraday’s grown children, Jessica and Tristan. The whole plotline revolved around Mac and Archie’s huge wedding. There was no way they weren’t going to be there.
Joshua Thornton, from the Lovers in Crime, was also in the mix—which brought in Murphy, who I had introduced to readers in A Small Case of Murder, my very first book. So, Murphy’s character was already established.
When a character is fully developed, they take on a life of their own. Murphy and Jessica really just happened.

2. But they are so very different from each other. Murphy is a pescetarian (vegetarian who eats fish). Jessica eats chocolate Pop-Tarts for breakfast and drinks martinis and margaritas.
LC: Which makes it more fun, doesn’t it? When you think about the most successful couples you know—I mean successful as in long happy marriages—they are actually different from each other. My husband and I have been married for going on twenty-seven years. We are as different as night and day. Sure, we annoy each other, but we also complement each other. If it wasn’t for him rooster-pecking me, nothing would get done. If it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t have any friends. We have had some hilarious fights because of those differences.
That is what makes Murphy and Jessica fun. Murphy is a Naval Academy graduate. He is disciplined because he was trained to be and he must be in order to succeed in his job as a special operative for the military—working directly for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Jessica has the freedom of wealth. She is a clothes horse who has a closet designated just for her hundreds of pairs of shoes. She is not as disciplined as Murphy, which will be good for him. He needs someone who he can kick back and relax with.
But … their differences do lead to arguments like any newly married couple will have. For example, in Kill and Run, Murphy and Jessica get into a lively debate at the Four Seasons in Washington over a chocolate lava cake.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking Jessica is an air-head. She’s also got a head on her shoulders. Murphy would never have fallen for her if she didn’t.

3. I was going to ask about that. Jessica Faraday is an heiress, having inherited millions of dollars from her grandmother. In Kill and Run, she dips her toe into the officer wives’ club and is setting up her and Murphy’s new home together. Circumstances pull her into this case. What type of role do you have planned for Jessica in future Thorny Rose Mysteries? Is she going to be a MacMillan and Wife type character, playing the devoted wife who gets into trouble, or will she have a more active role in the investigations?
LC: Jessica Faraday will be going to medical school, Georgetown University, to study psychiatry. Her specialty will be forensics psychiatry. Her character already shows a talent for analyzing people rather quickly. As the series progresses and she learns more, Jessica will be a very strong asset in profiling suspects and offering expertise that Murphy doesn’t have—possibly to the point that she will be officially brought into cases.

4. What’s next in store for Jessica and Murphy?
LC: Sorry, but the next Thorny Rose Mystery is at least a year away. I’m now working on three series! However, readers who fall in love with Jessica and Murphy should be on the lookout for the next Lovers in Crime Mystery, in which they will make a featured appearance. Murphy and Jessica rush to Chester, WV, when J.J., Murphy’s twin brother, disappears after his girlfriend’s murder. This mystery will be released in Spring 2015.

5. Please tell us that you have not abandoned Mac Faraday and Gnarly.
LC: Oh, no! I will never abandon Mac Faraday. Gnarly won’t let me. Look for Cancelled Vows this winter.
In Cancelled Vows, David O’Callaghan’s wedding plans hit a huge snag when he discovers he is already married to an old girlfriend! With less than a week to his wedding day, David, Mac, and Gnarly go to New York City to have the marriage dissolved—only to end up in the middle of a murder mystery.

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