Paula Charles is…On the Writing Block!

Sherry Ickes
Oct 7
3 min read

What? Haven’t heard of Paula Charles? Let’s take a look at who she is…

When Paula Charles isn’t writing, you can find her reading and contemplating murder under the towering trees of the Pacific Northwest. She is the author of the Hometown Hardware Mysteries, as well as the Zen Goat Mysteries written as Janna Rollins.

Paula is a member of Sisters in Crime, the national chapter, the Guppies, and the Columbia River chapter. Her debut novel, Hammers and Homicide, was featured in Woman’s World. She lives in Washington state with her extremely patient husband and a gaggle of furry and feathered creatures.

What is your ultimate goal as an author?

Originally, my ultimate goal was for my grandkids to see my books in the bookstore and think I was a big deal. After they shrugged and walked away, my new goal is to create a fun story that readers can get lost in for a little while and give them a break from real life worries. I’m hoping to create settings that they’ll want to return to and characters that will feel like friends.

Do you always know who the killer is, or do your characters surprise you in the end?

Usually, yes, though I don’t write from an outline. Before I start to write a new book, I usually know my key players- the victim, suspects, and killer. Because I don’t follow an outline, sometimes the characters will surprise me. For instance in Hammers and Homicide, the first book in my Hometown Hardware series, the killer turned out to be someone entirely different than who I originally thought it was. The original killer ended up getting cut from the book entirely!

How much is based on real life versus made up?

My protagonist, Dawna Carpenter, was inspired by my own grandmother. Like Dawna, my grandparents owned the hardware store in my hometown. My grandfather was a building contractor and grandma ran the store. She knew everybody in town and all of their business. When I started thinking about writing a cozy mystery, I thought Grandma would make a fantastic sleuth. Dawna quickly became her own person and is NOT my grandmother, though they do share some quirky traits and background.

Are there any animals in your book? If so, describe them and how involved they are in the investigation.

There is a slight paranormal aspect to this series, and Dawna’s cat Lilac, who crossed the rainbow bridge a decade before the first book opens, has recently appeared in the house. Lilac is a small, fluffy white cat with lavender eyes who jumped up onto Dawna’s bed one night not long ago, curled up and went to sleep. Dawna thought she was dreaming, but Lilac began winding around her ankles during the day when she was wide awake. When her daughter’s dog, Thor, reacted to the ghostly visitor, Dawna knew Lilac was more than a figment of her imagination. Lilac doesn’t get involved with the investigations at all.

What is Axe Me No Questions about?

Heads are on the chopping block as hardware store owner Dawna Carpenter finds herself on the cutting edge of a murder investigation in book two of the Hometown Hardware Mysteries.

In the quaint mountain town of Pine Bluff, Oregon, fall has arrived and it’s time for the annual Timber Festival, complete with Lumberjack and Lumberjill contests, and booths serving spicy chili and creamy pumpkin pies. Dawna and her daughter April have plans to watch the logging contest together. She’s looking forward to soaking in all her favorite things about the season, which includes having a conversation with her deceased husband, who she is certain is still hanging around the house.

But when Dawna falls over the body of one of the lumberjacks, with his own throwing axe imbedded in his chest, her focus turns to murder. With the town in turmoil, Dawna takes Chief Dallas’s request to keep her ears open as a full license to snoop. Who had an axe to grind with the charismatic lumberjack? Dawna had better stay sharp, or she might be the next one to get the axe.