What inspired your latest novel?
I was watching an old Agatha Christie movie. And I thought what if my amateur sleuths decide to solve a murder, but with much less skill. My ladies are a modern-day Miss Marple with a bit of bite and a lot of humour.
How did you come up with the title?
I’m an avid golfer, but my golf shot does not always go where I want, like down the fairway. Hence the name Wayward Shot. The wayward shot leads the ladies into a wild adventure.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Life does not end when you reach fifty plus, adventure is waiting for you.
How much of the book is realistic?
Nothing
Are your characters based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
No, no one I know, but bits and pieces of personalities I have meant over the years may poke up now and again.
Where can readers find you on social media and do you have a blog?
No blog.
https//facebook.com/mablemysteries
https//twitter/@joanjhave
https//Instagram/joanhavelange
Do you have plans or ideas for your next book? Is it a sequel or a stand alone?
I don’t know.
Of the characters you have created or envisioned, which is your favorite & why?
I guess Mabel, she says and does things we would like to, and Violet is the exact opposite, she holds Mabel back from disaster. Well, some of the time.
Do you favor one type of genre or do you dabble in more than one?
Mysteries, I like the puzzle.
Do you plan your stories, or are you a seat of the pants style writer?
I plan my stories. I start out with a What if. Then I plot out the story line.
What is your best marketing tip?
Your blog for one, you can have a fabulous book. But if the readers don’t know your book is out there. Fabulous won’t help.
Do you find social media a great tool or a hindrance?
So far it has been good to me.
OPTIONAL QUESTIONS
What do you enjoy most about writing?
I love the what if. I take an ordinary circumstance and then I do the, what if this happened.
What age did you start writing stories/poems?
I started writing in my twenties, romances, but I was never published.
Has your genre changed or stayed the same?
I now write Cozy Mysteries, I found out I was not very romantic.
What genre are you currently reading?
A mystery, but I do read other genres.
Do you read for pleasure or research or both?
Pleasure, but you learn as you read.
If you could meet one favorite author, who would it be and why?
Linwood Barclay, his mysteries are amazing I never figure out whodunit. I love his humour too.
If you could live anywhere in the world – where would it be?
Right here. except when it’s minus crazy.
What reward do you give yourself for making a deadline?
A cup of coffee.
Bio:
Joan Havelange has been writing fiction since her early twenties, beginning with romance stories. Always a fan of mysteries, she is an avid reader and writer of cozy mysteries.
She is an accomplished actor and director of community theater, which lends well to her writing. Joan is a world traveler and enthusiastic golfer. She lives on the Canadian prairies and has three grown children.
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