Destiny Ford (Angela Corbett) - Contemporary Mystery Romance with Some Shenanigans

Destiny Ford (Angela Corbett) - Contemporary Mystery Romance with Some Shenanigans
Angela Corbettbb

Destiny Ford is a pseudonym for Angela Corbett. Angela is a USA Today bestselling author of young adult, new adult, and adult fiction--with lots of kissing. She has worked as a journalist, freelance writer, and director of communications and marketing. She loves classic cars, traveling, and chasing her five-pound pomeranian, Pippin--who is just as mischievous as his hobbit namesake, and his hyper pug-tzu cohort, S'more. As our Author of the Day, she tells us all about her book, The Devil Drinks Coffee.

Please give us a short introduction to what The Devil Drinks Coffee is about.

Sure! The Devil Drinks Coffee is a cozy mystery about Kate Saxee, a journalist who returns to her small hometown after a horrible breakup, and she takes a job as the newspaper editor for The Branson Tribune. When a girl’s body is found in a local lake, Kate thinks there was foul play, and the town’s two most eligible bachelors are determined to help her investigate what happened, and discover the identity of the killer before more girls go missing. There are some shenanigans along the way, including a cow suicide, revolving door rescue, and a purple pig. Some of those shenanigans are based on real-life events…I’ll let the readers try to figure that out. :)

Why contemporary mystery romance? What drew you to the genre?

I’ve loved mysteries since I was little and used to watch re-runs of Murder She Wrote and Perry Mason with my mom. I love writing humor as well, so cozy mysteries were the perfect genre for my funny Kate Saxee Series. I also write sexy contemporary romance and young adult paranormal romance. Being able to move between genres helps me so I don’t get burned out on a specific series and story style.

Why did you pick the small town of Branson Falls, Utah as the backdrop for your book?

Branson Falls is a fictional town set in a small rural Utah community. I grew up in rural Utah and life there was so different from the city. Once I moved away for college, I found out things I thought were totally normal, like dragging a TV out to the middle of a friend’s cornfield and watching movies, weren’t common in other places. Tapping into that small-town experience felt like a fun setting for a book and I really enjoy writing the series.

What's up with "The Devil" in the titles of this series? Why did you take this approach?

Utah is a fairly religious state and small rural towns are often even more pious. Something I remember hearing often when I was growing up was: “That’s of the devil,” and “The devil comes out after midnight.” So I decided to incorporate “The Devil” in my series book titles, combined with things that are looked down on in Utah…like drinking coffee, wearing tank tops, or getting tattoos. So the first three books in the series are called: The Devil Drinks Coffee, The Devil Wears Tank Tops, and The Devil Has Tattoos. It’s kind of tongue in cheek, and people who live in Utah understand the references immediately and laugh. Hopefully, after reading the books, people outside of Utah will understand the references too.

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Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I play the piano and flute, and I was once a ventriloquist. I still have the doll and named it Annie way back when I was 8 years old. It looks shockingly like Annabelle from the horror movies, and I recently found out the doll terrifies my husband. I own two 1966 Mustangs that are more maintenance than a Kardashian, but I love the cars. My favorite holiday is Halloween, and in junior high, my mom made me wear a bright pink bunny costume complete with a giant bunny head in the town Christmas parade. The biggest crush of my life was riding in the caroling sleigh behind me, watching my bunny tail wiggle the whole way down Main Street. I’ve never forgiven her.

Do any of your characters ever take off on their own tangent, refusing to do what you had planned for them?

Oh, all the time. I outline all of my books, but I try to leave room for the characters to tell me how they're going to get to the next plot point, and sometimes the whole plan changes as I write. I try to listen to the characters as I go because I find that the book becomes more layered and the story more engaging that way.

Which of your characters has been the most challenging to write for?

This series is probably the easiest for me to write as far as the characters go. I know them in an intrinsic way, and Kate’s mom, Sophie, is actually the only character I’ve ever written based on someone I know in real life—she’s based on my mom. I think one difficult thing about this series is the love interests. Love triangles are always a challenge, and Drake and Hawke are both alpha males who are similar in some ways but also very different. I have to make sure I give Kate, and the reader, the chance to get to know and experience them both.

Talk to us about your writing routine; what’s a typical writing day for you?

I try to write every day. Some days the ideas and words flow and I write for 12 straight hours, other days it’s a struggle to get 1000 words in. For me, it’s really about getting into the right headspace. I spend a lot of time on the business side of writing, and that can take over all my time and mental space if I’m not careful, so I really have to set aside specific times to turn off my internet connection and just write.

What are you working on right now?

I’m working on Book 4 of the Kate Saxee Mystery Series, as well as editing Convincing Courtney, book 3 of my Tempting series.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

I love interacting with readers, especially on social media. Also, readers who join my newsletter get a free novelette in the Kate Saxee Mystery Series! You can find me at the following links!

 www.angelacorbett.com
·      Newsletter:  http://eepurl.com/KhLAn
·      Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAngelaCorbett
·      Instagram:  www.instagram.com/byangcorbett
·      Twitter:  www.twitter.com/angcorbett
·      Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/angela-corbett
·      Amazon:  www.amazon.com/author/angelacorbett