Q–Fatal fixer-upper is from a genre called Do-It-Yourself Mystery. What groups of readers does this target?

A—The Do-It-Yourself Mysteries are part of Berkley Prime Crime’s cozy line, so they appeal to readers who enjoy traditional mysteries. There’s a cozy mystery out there for practically any hobby, craft, or activity invented, and people who are involved in that hobby, craft or activity, or who just like to learn about it, enjoy them. This series is geared toward people who never miss an episode of Trading Spaces or Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It has tips for DIY projects, as well as a hot handyman in tight jeans and a low-slung tool belt, so I feel pretty good about it appealing to at least the female half of the viewers.

Q–Is Avery Baker based on anyone you know or possibly a combination of people?

A—The DIY-books are written from the first person point of view, so Avery has a few of my personality traits. It’s difficult to avoid. Other than that, she’s her own person. I didn’t sit down and create her, at least not deliberately; she became who she is through the writing of the book. I gave her traits and abilities as she20needed them, to further the plot, and by the end, she had become a complete person. But she’s herself, nobody else.

Q–Was this easy to write because of your vast experience in real estate and home renovations?

A—I don’t know that it’s ever easy to write a book, but certainly the background I have in real estate and renovating helped with that aspect of it. But because the renovating is just a part of the book – the backdrop against which the story takes place, if you will – there was still the mystery to plot, and the historical subplot to research, and lots and lots of hours spent hunched over the keyboard pounding out the words.
Q–Since this is the debut of a series, when in the process did you know how you needed to end this book?

A—I never know how I’m going to end a book until I get there. Some things are obvious, though: the murderer must be caught and brought to justice, and the loose ends must be tied up. Because this book revolved around renovating Aunt Inga’s house, I thought it made sense to end it when Aunt Inga’s house was finished. Since that was also Avery’s reason for spending the summer in Waterfield, it made sense to end with Avery resolving the issue of whether to stay in Maine or go back to Manhattan. And since the romance is directly tied to whether Avery decides to stay or go, it made sense t o end with that.

Q–How long did it take you to write the manuscript?

A—I was offered a 3-book, 18-month contract, giving me six months to complete each book. Altogether, the actual writing probably took around four months, and then there were a couple of rewrites, and some time spent waiting for feedback from my agent and editor before another round of revisions started.

Q–What authors do you enjoy reading?

A—I’ll read pretty much anything anyone puts in front of me, so there are a lot of authors I enjoy. Some I enjoy more than others. And I read cross-genre. I enjoy all sorts of mystery fiction, from cozies to thrillers, with some historical mysteries thrown in for good measure. I enjoy sci-fi and fantasy, especially YA fantasy. I enjoy paranormals and romance. If I had to pick just a couple of authors, I’d have to say Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels, J.K. Rowling, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Jennifer Crusie. That should pretty much cover the genres, I think.

Q–Actually you are writing under a pen name. OK, what’s your real name?

A—My real name is Bente Gallagher. My last name is courtesy of my husband, who’s Irish. My first name is courtesy of my parents, who are Norwegian. It means ‘blessed,’ and I certainly feel that I have been, in being given the opportunity to see my words become published!