Mary K. Savarese - Cozy Mystery Romance With a Spiritual Twist

Mary K. Savarese - Cozy Mystery Romance With a Spiritual Twist
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Born in Brooklyn, NY, Mary K. Savarese has a business degree in accounting from City University, NY, and has worked in insurance and financing. Mary has spent thirteen years as a religious education teacher and has lived and worked in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. For the past decade, Mary has served as a Eucharistic minister at her Catholic church, bringing the Eucharist to community nursing homes. After raising a family in Connecticut, she currently travels between Connecticut and Florida, where she plans to continue in her ministry. As our Author of the Day, Savarese tells us all about her book, Tigers Love Bubble Baths & Obsession Perfume.

Please give us a short introduction to what Tigers Love Bubble Baths & Obsession Perfume is about.

Tigers Love Bubble Baths & Obsession Perfume (who knew!) my debut cozy mystery romance with a spiritual twist is about betrayal and starting over. 48-year-old Angie Pantera facing the ultimate betrayal by the love of her life is reinventing her world under not just one cloud but a new threat. This leads her on a mission to clear her name, rebuild her life, and become an amateur sleuth in order to do so, bringing one into the heart of a mystery that edges into questions of miracles as well as murder.

What inspired you to write this book?

I was inspired by 3 things: At a big cat reserve in Florida, A 600 lb siberian tiger in a galvanized tank filled with bubbles and Obsession perfume sprayed on his tongue. I said that's a title and now to write the story. A wish poster at a Nursing Home I visit. Now what if you asked for something so unrealistic and it was granted! And a dear friend's own betrayal.

Tell us more about Angie Pantera. What makes her so special?

If the title of my Novel doesn't intrigue you, my protagonist, Angie Pantera, a middle aged woman, left blindsided, forges a new life for herself as a nursing home recreational director, only to face charges of negligence and murder as residents begin to die under mysterious circumstances - will.

Why did you pick a nursing home as the backdrop for your story?

I used the Nursing Home as a backdrop because the real wish poster I used in my story came from a Nursing Home I visit.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I am a JAX Champion and proud of it! I also play the piano.

What did you have the most fun with when writing this book?

I have the most fun when my ideas come to fruition on paper. I write on a laptop. When the story flows and melds and just gets better with each page I create.

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The book contains some twists. Did you plan it all out before you started writing, or did some of it just "happen" along the way?

I love quirky titles, that is where I start then create a concept for a story. I have general ideas, a beginning and ending that may change but that's fun.

I have about 5 outlines of chapters at a time because as the story evolves things may change.

Are any of the characters in the book based on real people?

Angie Pantera is not about my friend but I used my friend's own blindsiding as an inspiration. My other characters are made-up.

Was there a particular character whose voice you found it easiest to write in?

My protagonist, Angie Pantera.

When working on a novel, how do you immerse yourself in the main characters' lives? Do you observe people in a certain culture, or do you try to walk in their shoes?

I carry a small notebook where I write about interesting things I notice, sayings, concepts, people and sometimes at those moments I get an idea for a future book.

Which one of your characters do you think you would get along with the most? What about the least?

I think Angie, Jakie, the most. The least, Ms. Fettorre and Mary.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

I started writing manuscripts seriously a decade ago. Before that, always put my dreams and ideas on the back burner. I have a drawer full of rejections. Tigers... was my fourth manuscript and first published. I would wake up everyday and try to be positive, today's the day someone will like my work. I stuck to it because it is my soul, my passion. It gives me joy to write and create. That's what keeps me going everyday. I like to write 5 pages a day on my laptop. Doesn't always happen, as life interrupts, sometimes I write more sometimes less. Five pages can take me anywhere from five to eight hours. Always a lot of editing. If you have a dream and something you love, don't give up believe it will happen for you.

What are you working on right now?

I am re-editing my third manuscript, and into 80 pages of a fifth manuscript but that one is moving slow if not nil as I am spending a lot of time re-editing my third. Both of these manuscripts are in a different genre than Tigers... YA.

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

Visit my author website, https://www.maryksavarese.com

it connects to Tigers...facebook, twitter, Instagram, etc. You can message me. My author website also has other current info, publisher info, blogs and connects to Amazon, B&N, etc. I'm on Amazon's author site and Goodreads site, under Mary K. Savarese or as my Novel.