Blanche Day Manos Interview Published on: 30, Jun 2020

I was born in rural Oklahoma. My childhood centered around my parents and my younger brother. Also, farm animals--horse, cows, chickens. And, beloved dogs.

I can't remember the very first thing I ever wrote because I've been writing since childhood. The first thing I was ever paid for was a small poem which a Christian organization bought. I was elated and shared the good news with my family.

I chose to write cozy mysteries because that's the kind of story I enjoy most. Most of the violence in a cozy happens off-screen. Readers are not subjected to blatant violence or explicit scenes.

I really enjoyed writing for and being published in magazines. Editors and publishers were unfailingly kind and courteous.

Barbara Burgess and I discovered we had childhoods with many of the same experiences and we both enjoyed reading cozy mysteries. "You know," I said, "I think you and I could write cozies." She agreed, so we did. We wrote the first three Darcy and Flora books together and it was a lot of fun.

Two things inspired me to write By the Fright of the Silvery Moon: tales of the influence full moons have on some people and a legend of an old outlaw.

The theme of the Ned McNeil books is the history of old houses and, once again, the mysterious appeal of a beautiful, full moon.

Moonlight Can Be Murder, the first Ned McNeil book, was inspired by thinking, "what if"? What if a woman were to get an urgent letter from her uncle, asking for help, and what if she arrived at his home only to find him dying. What if certain events led her to believe that her hometown was not the peaceful place it seemed on the surface and her own life was being threatened? She would most certainly react.

I began writing the Darcy and Flora series, as I said, with Barbara Burgess. My mother was my inspiration for Flora, not that my mom ever got into solving mysteries, but her courage, enthusiasm, and the closeness we shared as mother and daughter begged to be put into words.

I actually never run low on ideas. Happenings in the news, old family tales, the experiences of friends or even strangers, and that ever-present curiosity of mine keeps the computer going.

The significance of the title, Moonstruck and Murderous, is that it pretty well describes the suspects within the story. Pat, a dear friend of Ned McNeil's, is convinced that the full moon is partly responsible for the murderous intent of some of the characters while Ned is certain that they are simply a murderous crew.

I'm not sure who inspired the character of Darcy Campbell. Maybe Barbara and I saw Darcy as the courageous and daring woman we would like to think of as ourselves.

I enjoyed the series because of the history, the intriguing mystery, and courage of the protagonists, and the excitement in each chapter. Then, in between those hair-raising experiences, Darcy and Flora would sit at the hundred year old table, share a cup of coffee, and compare ideas. There are a lot of warm moments as well as a lot of spine-tingling times.

I haven't actually changed my writing habits during quarantine, as I enjoy writing any time. I write every day. It helps a lot to put thoughts into words, and if those words involve solving a cozy mystery, so much the better!

My experience with AllAuthor has been completely positive and professional. I appreciate the tweets and the publicizing of my books, as well as information about my books on the AllAuthor website.