Interviewing Author Michelle Busby

 

1. Tell me about yourself?

I am Mickey Middleton Busby, and I am an author. I graduated from Florida State University, where I studied music education, elementary education, and ethnomusicology. I write under the pen names Michelle Busby, Mickey Middleton, Mickey MorningGlory, and M.M. Busby.

2.What are your favorite books to read?

I am a sucker for good mysteries, psychological thrillers, medical suspense, and culinary cozies. My favorite authors are Dean Koontz, Robin Cook, Agatha Christie, and Diane Mott Davidson. I also love books with paranormal aspects such as those written by Susan Cooper and Kay Hooper.

3. When did you decide you were going to write a book?

 As a public-school teacher and a young mother, I had little time to write books; however, one night, I went to bed and dreamed a book. It made sense and had a complete storyline without the usual fantastical elements of flying or riding on a big chicken. After awakening, I remembered the entire dream from start to finish. The dream recurred nightly for weeks until I finally sat down and put it to paper. I shared it with my middle school students, and then I “put it to bed.” Over the years, more stories with the same characters came to me in dreams, so I realized I had a young adult/new adult/paranormal cozy series on my hands. I dedicated myself to writing eight books—the stories of The Trackers Series which these characters present to me.

 At the same time, as an avid reader of mysteries—and particularly culinary cozies (I am drawn to books with a pun in the title)—I started thinking of writing in a more adult vein. The Holmes & Watson Culinary Whodunit series emerged just before the pandemic with a planned 22 books over the next several years.

4. How did you come up with the name of your book?

My first book—Backtrack: The Scout’s Story—named itself because of the ability of the main character to backtrack in time and scout out a criminal from the past. The subsequent books are named as the stories of each of the recurring characters of the Native American Trackers Team who work together to solve crimes.

My first culinary cozy book came from my love for herbal tea, puzzles, and mysteries. It is named The Tainted Teacup and takes place in Watson’s Reme-Teas, an herbal tea and potions shop. Featuring a retired teacher turned herbalist named Thomasina Watson and a retired Irish food inspector turned chef, my characters are drawn from people I meet every day in a small rural town and those I’ve met on my travels abroad. My second in the series takes place at Easter and is named Egg Hide Homicide.

5. What are you working on for 2021

I’m working on book three of the Holmes & Watson Culinary Whodunit series—Heart Burn Holiday. The sleuthing duo of Finbar Holmes and Thomasina Watson must solve a triple homicide during a Cinco de Mayo celebration in which three men abruptly die from apparent heart attacks.

6. How long have you been writing?

While I was living in California after college, I began writing musicals and stage plays. Upon returning to Florida, I married and became a teacher and had a much younger audience, so my writing was geared to theater pieces for youth. Now retired, I draw upon my diverse background and education whenever I write to insert multiculturalism, music, food, the arts, and nature craft into my stories for all ages.

 7.What advice would you give other authors?

You’re an author, so just write your story. The rest comes later.

Don’t worry about everything being perfect; don’t worry about who might like or not like your book; don’t worry about what other people say you should or shouldn’t do; don’t worry if you sell one copy or one million copies.

You’re an author, so just write your story. The rest comes later.

8. Where can people find you online?

My publishing website is www.patentprintbks.com. I can also be found on Facebook as Mickey Middleton Busby and on my Holmes & Watson Culinary Whodunit page.

9. What is your favorite coffee drink?

I am not a coffee drinker. Like Thomasina Watson, my favorite beverages are herbal teas, particularly Red Rooibos with honey.

10. What is your favorite coffee shop?

My favorite coffee shop is Caife Caife Holmes (Holmes’s Coffee Café), which is run by Finbar Holmes!

11. Do you plan on making a new book in the future?

I have a planned 22 books in the Holmes & Watson Culinary Whodunit series. The next book will be Shelled Shocked Shooting, followed by Murder Most Meloncoly, Eggs Benedict Arnold, and Mocha Mint Mischief. My characters will average solving one crime each month

, although it will take their writer considerably more months to pen their escapades!

12. How many books have you written?

I have published three children’s picture books, five books in The Trackers Series, one adult thriller, and two in my cozy mystery series.

13. Did you go to college to be a writer?

I went to college to be a music teacher and to research music of the world’s cultures. Although I did teach music for many years, writing ambushed me and has now become my primary focus,

@MichelleBusby.author (Holmes & Watson Culinary Whodunits Facebook page)

@MickeyMorningGlory.author (The Trackers Series Facebook page)

@PatentPrintBooks (publisher Facebook page)