Today, Bookpleasures.comis excited to welcome Margaret Fenton, author of the acclaimedLittle Mystery series. 

Drawing from herbackground as a social worker, Margaret brings an authentic andcompelling voice to her novels, which center around Claire Conover, achild welfare worker who finds herself entangled in solving murdercases in Birmingham, Alabama.

Her debut novel, LittleLamb Lost, set the tone for a series that skillfully blendscrime-solving with deep explorations of social and family issues.Through her thoughtful character development and attention toreal-world challenges, Margaret has gained a dedicated readership inthe cozy mystery genre.

Her recent novel,Little Boy Blue has recently been published. We are thrilled tohave her here to discuss her writing, her inspiration, and what’snext for Claire Conover. 

Norm: How has yourexperience as a mental health professional influenced the way youcrafted the characters in Little Boy Blue?

Margaret:  My mentalhealth experience was largely gained at the Jefferson CountyDepartment of Human Resources here in Birmingham, Alabama, similar towhere fictional Claire works.

I worked for an agency that providedmental health counseling for families whose children were at risk ofcoming into foster care. 

It gave me great insight into all types ofpeople and how they treat their children, which aids in the fictionalcharacter development in my head. 

The villain in Little Boy Bluehas falsely accused someone very important to Claire of child abuse,and she is compelled to investigate to clear his name.

Norm: Foster care playsa significant role in the novel. What inspired you to focus on thistheme, and what message did you want to convey about the foster caresystem?

Margaret: In the secondbook in the series, Little Girl Gone, Claire places athirteen-year-old girl in foster care, who then runs away. 

As she issearching for the runaway, she meets LaReesa Jones, anotherthirteen-year-old who is essentially on her own. LaReesa was supposedto be in ONE SCENE. 

She refused to stay in that one scene, andmade it clear that she was going to be not only in that book, butevery book thereafter. 

So naturally Claire has to become her fostermother, which would never be allowed in real life. LaReesa hasdeveloped into my favorite character. 

Foster parents are vital to thechild welfare system, and I wanted to show a bit of why that is.

Norm: GrantSummerville’s accusation of child abuse is a pivotal plot point.What made you want to explore such a sensitive subject in this book?

Margaret: That’s an easyone. Spoiler alert: Grant was Claire’s boyfriend, and they break upin book three, Little White Lies, because Claire doessomething so, so stupid.  I needed a way to get Grant back inher orbit, and what better way than a false allegation of childabuse?

Norm: The plotintertwines Claire’s personal and professional lives. How difficultwas it to maintain that balance without overshadowing either aspect?

Margaret: That balance isalways difficult to maintain, especially since Claire’s personallife is so complicated now that she is a foster parent. 

She worksvery, very hard, just like social workers in real life, and that isalso a large part of all the books. The different aspects of herlives all just seem to mesh somehow. 

I am a big believer that writingis a spiritual thing, and sometimes it just comes from somewhere andI’m simply grateful.

Norm: How did youapproach writing the murder investigation to ensure it felt bothsuspenseful and emotionally connected to Claire’s journey?

Margaret: The possibilitythat the police are connecting Grant Summerville to the murder iswhat creates and maintains the suspense, I think. Claire has alreadylost him, someone she deeply cares about, and the idea that he couldbe falsely accused of murder lights a fire under her like no other.That, and there is a child involved. Claire protects children. Thatis her calling, and the thing that is most important.

Norm: What was the mostchallenging aspect of writing Little Boy Blue, particularly interms of balancing its multi-layered plotlines?

Margaret: I was asked on apanel once about the most challenging aspect of writing, and all thepanelists said the same thing: the middle part. It’s aboutmanipulating your characters in such a way and having them ask theright questions to get to the conclusion.

Norm: Murder mysteriesoften rely on unexpected twists. How do you keep readers guessingwithout giving too much away too soon?

Margaret: Red herrings arealways a big part of mystery writing, and you have to put them innovels to keep people guessing. That helps readers not see the endingbefore you are ready. 

In other words, give them other characters whoalso have motive and opportunity to commit the murder.

Norm: The novelexplores themes of resilience, loyalty, and redemption. How did youweave these themes into both the murder mystery and Claire's personallife?

Margaret: Claire lovespeople deeply, and will do anything to protect them from hurt. That’sher motivation for everything in her personal life, and a bit in herprofessional life as well. 

Loyalty is one of her biggest and bestcharacteristics, and motivates a lot of the actions she takes.

Norm: Where can ourreaders find out more about you and Little Boy Blue?

Margaret: I have a WEBSITE and I love to hearfrom readers. I’m also on Facebook and Instagram. Send a friendrequest to Margaret Herring Fenton and mention you are one of myreaders.

Norm: What is next forMargaret Fenton?

Margaret: There will beone more Claire Conover book, because, yes, I ended Little Boy Bluewith two major things that happen and one of them will have to beinvestigated.

 I’m hoping to write Little Purple Flowers in thecoming months. In my heart of hearts, I am a cozy author, and I’mworking on a cozy right now with my mother-in-law that I hope will bepublished in the future. 

I am also the coordinator for Murder in theMagic City, a mystery conference here in Birmingham that is the firstSaturday in February every year, so that keeps me very busy. Checkout www.mmcmysteryconference.com for more info.

Norm: As this interviewcomes to an end, the novel’s conclusion ties together themes oflove, loyalty, and redemption. What message do you hope readers takeaway from Claire’s journey by the end of the book?

Margaret: Claire’sjourney is about to get even more complicated! Stay tuned!

Norm: Thank you onceagain, Margaret, for taking the time to chat with us. We wish you thebest of luck with all your future projects and look forward to seeingwhat’s next for you and Claire Conover! 

Margaret: Thank you somuch for this interview! This was fun!

Follow Here To Read Norm's Review of Little Boy Blue