Why I Wrote FAIS DO DO DIE!

I started these “why I wrote” posts waaaay back in the last century, or close to the turn of the century when I’d published maybe three books? I don’t remember exactly. These posts accomplished (I hope), two things for me:

1. They helped me remember what I was thinking about when I wrote a particular book (this is very helpful now that I’m more forgetful than I used to be – haha)
2. They hopefully helped readers get a better sense of the story than you get from just reading a blurb. 

But now that I’m about to publish (tomorrow!!!) my thirty-second book, I’m wondering why I started this. Lol Not that I don’t love talking about my books, but because the reason I wrote the book is…that’s what I do. I write books. Lol

As to why I wrote this particular book? Well, the Big Uneasy is a series featuring members of my “protect and serve” Bakers. The word “series” implies multiple books. So that’s one reason, but the deeper reason is that…I like my Bakers and I like revisiting New Orleans, where we lived for eighteen years. 

I found this quote about New Orleans from Trombone Shorty:  

“In New Orleans, we celebrate everything. It’s probably the only place you’ll see people dancing in a funeral home.” 

So part of why I keep the series going is to celebrate those years, the people I met, the food I ate, the music I heard, and the things I learned—both about the city and about myself. 

I wrote my first novel in New Orleans (THE SPY WHO KISSED ME) and I’ve always believed it was something in the air there that helped me get over the hurdle of “wanting to write” to “doing it.” 

And the last (possibly) reason I wrote FAIS DO DO DIE is the people in the series. They each want their story told and they won’t let me alone. No, really. Cal, the brother in this story—I don’t think he’d even had a mention in the previous books and he was a little bitter about that. And Sarah, Nell’s roommate, she’s been waiting for her romance to bloom, too. 

So, tomorrow I’ll have two happy Big Uneasy characters—and a bunch more clamoring for their story. Did I really have to make that family that big???

So, mostly I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the fifth installment in my Big Easy series! As always, the story and the characters surprised me by going in directions I wasn’t expecting. If you’ve preordered, FAIS DO DO DIE will show up on your eReader after midnight! If you haven’t, why not?

(Edited to add: I’m visiting Whisky with my Book today to talk about — you guessed it — FAIS DO DO DIE! Click here to read all about it!)

Perilously yours,

Pauline