Beth Groundwater is the author of the Claire Hanover gift basket
designer series and the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventure series. Her
newest book is A Basket of Trouble, released November 8, 2013. She lives in Colorado and enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, whitewater rafting, and, as you can see in the photo, canoeing paddling a ducky, or blow-up kayak (correction from BG, 11/12/13; she says duckies are "very tippy, so you're almost guaranteed to get wet").
Q: As it happens, I was just at an event with a silent auction of about a dozen gift baskets. What are your favorite things to find in a gift basket?
A: In general, I like to find things inside the basket that stimulate all of the senses—vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, etc. For me, that might mean some mystery books to read, a windchime to hang outside, cinnamon or vanilla scented hand cream or lip balm, a pair of fuzzy warm socks in a cute pattern, and lots and lots of dark chocolate! To read some general tips from my protagonist, Claire Hanover, for making perfect gift baskets, your blog readers can go to: http://bethgroundwater.com/Gift_Basket_articles.html
Q: You've published six novels. At what point in your writing career did you feel like you were really a writer?
A: In early 2006, when I signed my first contract for a full-length novel, which turned out to be A Real Basket Case, the first mystery novel in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series. Before that, I had earned some money from selling short stories, and I had finaled in writing contests, but it wasn't until I had sold a book-length manuscript to a publisher that I felt like a truly professional writer.
Q: Since I'm a librarian, I'm always curious about research that writers do for their books. Do you research your people, places, etcetera? Do you travel to places you write about?
A: Oh yes, I research the heck out of my books, which is a
large part of the fun of writing them. For instance, A
Basket of Trouble, the third book in the Claire Hanover gift
basket designer series, includes horseback trail riding, hippotherapy (the use
of horses in physical and occupational therapy), and illegal immigration. I've
ridden horses recreationally over the years in Colorado, but I took a trail
ride through the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs specifically for this
book. I also interviewed the manager of a Colorado Springs-based trail riding
business. And, I interviewed a hippotherapist and observed some of her therapy
sessions. I researched catalogs of horse tack (equipment) and cowboy work wear,
the meanings of the sounds that horses make, observed a farrier at work shoeing
horses, and more. My hope is that because of my research, readers will be
immersed in the care and riding of horses while reading A Basket of Trouble and
trying to solve the puzzle of whodunnit along with Claire Hanover.
Also, all of my mystery novels so far are set in locations in Colorado or nearby Utah, and they are all in locations that I've either lived in or visited extensively. I feel that to describe a setting, I need to be there myself to know what it smells, sounds, and tastes like, to photograph it, to see the local flora and fauna, to hear the local dialect, and more. I didn't need to travel far for A Basket of Trouble, because I researched it and wrote the first draft when I still lived in Colorado Springs, the setting for the book.
Q: What's the worst job you've ever had?A: Waiting tables at a Howard Johnson's motel restaurant one summer when I was in college. The bartender had quit, so I had to mix cocktails for my tables, even though I was only 19 and didn't know squat about cocktails. And, I had to make the ice cream dessert orders, as well as do all the other stuff involved in waiting tables. I would come home close to midnight after a long shift with sticky ice cream all down the front of my uniform and have to wash it the next morning before going to work again. I was running on my feet all day and working my a** off, and sometimes customers would only leave a quarter as a tip. I now tip wait staff generously at restaurants if they're doing a good job. But, on the flip side, I also know when they aren't, so they get less sympathy from me if they're goofing off.
Q: What do you like to eat for breakfast?
A: What I would REALLY like to eat for breakfast every morning is a warm, flaky chocolate croissant, thin-sliced smoked salmon with all the toppings, fresh berries with cream and coffee with cream. What I usually eat for breakfast is a bowl of Kashi Go Lean cereal with 1% milk and a half of a sliced banana and a cup of coffee with that same 1% milk in it. I can dream, though!
Q: What are you reading right now?
I picked up a couple of used books by Jodi Picoult and another couple by John Irving at a local independent new/used bookstore the last time I signed there, so I'm working through those right now. Along with reading a lot of mystery novels, I like to mix up my reading with some mainstream fiction, literary, women's fiction, true crime, and even romance.
Q: What's the best: getting the idea for a book, working on the manuscript, finishing the manuscript, selling the manuscript, or holding the published book in your hands? You can only pick one.
A: You are a hard task master, Jessy! There are aspects of each phase of the process that I like and dislike, but if I have to pick just one phase that I enjoy most, I would say that it is getting the idea for a book and researching it to start putting together a story. It's the time when my creativity and imagination is most put to the test. That first phase is still very exciting, even after publishing so many books.
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