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Q&A with Victoria Laurie
1) In your Psychic Eye series your
protagonist, Abby Cooper, is a psychic intuitive who uses
her abilities to solve crimes. You yourself are also a
psychic intuitive so how closely are you and Abby connected?
And have you ever investigated or solved a crime?
I think Abby is as close as I’m going to get to
writing, “Dear, Diary...” Her voice is by far
the easiest for me to write because she really is me
— at least in personality. I don’t edit much
when I write her, (and now you know how flawed I really
am!). When it comes to describing her psychic abilities, I
never embellish. I always make sure that when she’s
tuning in on something — like a crime — that she
approaches it exactly the way I would, and that the things
she pulls out of the ether are authentic to what real police
psychics can do.
Personally, I haven’t worked an actual case in years
and years — but I have given my impressions on a few,
and it was enough for me to know that I didn’t want to
do any more of it. The truth is that it’s much nicer
writing about murder when you know that it’s
completely made up and no one actually got hurt.
It’s the emotional pain of investigating the real deal
that’s so tough to cope with. Knowing that real
people were so terribly affected...it’s heartbreaking.
2) Abby has a long standing romance with an FBI
agent named Dutch Rivers that has run through this series.
‘Fess up—is he based on someone dear to you?
I WISH! Ah, Dutch...he makes my heart go
pitter-patter...even if he is a complete fabrication. In
actuality, he’s not based on anyone I know, (sadness!)
But if I ever meet a man like him, oh...that poor man
simply won’t know what hit him!
Still, you might be interested to learn about Dutch’s
roots. When I first began to create him, I was actually
going through a significant heartbreak after having ended a
long-term relationship with a truly wonderful guy I
absolutely adored, but we just couldn’t make it work.
Back then I was in that space of knowing what I
didn’t want, and thinking hard about what I’d
really like in a mate. I definitely wanted a manly man,
someone with great physical prowess and confidence, who had
a strong sense of right and wrong and also someone who
accepted me for all the weirdness that comes with being a
psychic. In real life that’s much harder to find than
you’d imagine...hence maaaaaaybe why I’m still
single. 
3) In the new book, LETHAL OUTLOOK, the
plot revolves around a young mother who has gone missing
without a trace. Was there something in particular that
drew you to that idea?
Several years ago I saw a news story about the mother of
two young toddlers who answered her doorbell one afternoon
and was abducted by a complete stranger. Her husband came
home to find the front door open and both his sons in a
state of distress, but no trace of his wife. The story
didn’t end well for this beautiful young woman, even
though she fought with everything she had to get free. Her
tragic story has stayed with me for years, and I often send
up a little prayer to her. I think I wanted to immortalize
her a little, because I cannot imagine what she must have
gone through in those final moments, and how close she came
to being rescued. It breaks my heart when I think about it,
and the book was simply a very small nod to her and to the
family she left behind.
4) There’s a new video out where you and
Juliet Blackwell interview one another about your books
(which can be viewed at www.VictoriaLaurie.com). The two of
you have wonderful rapport. How important is that to you?
Oh, I ADORE Juliet!! She is seriously one of the
loveliest, smartest, most generous women on the planet. And
talented — seriously, have you read her? I
loooooove both the Witchcraft Mysteries and the Haunted Home
Renovation Mysteries — they’re marvelous and
there’s a whole lotta Juliet in them. She’s a
very special friend to me, and when she and I discovered
that we had an opportunity to interview each other, we
jumped at it! The rapport and adoration you see in that
clip is quite genuine, which is nice, I think, because most
people expect that authors in the same genre would be
competitive with each other, and that’s simply not the
case. It’s wonderful to have dear and supportive
friends who are also fellow authors. It helps us become
better writers too, me thinks.
5) Can you give us a sneak peak at what’s in
store next for Abby?
Ahhhh, my dear Abster. Well, as we mentioned above, Abby
and her BFF Candice are once again teaming up to solve the
mystery of a missing mother who may or may not have been
abducted from her home one afternoon. They have very little
to go on, and a list of suspects that keeps getting longer,
not to mention the fact that the family of the missing mom
wants nothing to do with the impressions of a psychic.
And while gathering clues for the case, Abby is also
dodging her sister Cat — who’s playing wedding
planner, and she’s also dodging Dave —
who’s hounding her for deco decisions on her new
house, and ducking calls from Dutch — who’s
stuck with both Cat and Dave while Abby plays dodgeball.
6) Do you ever treat yourself to a reward after a
long day of writing?
Hee, hee! Awesome question! I don’t usually give
myself a reward, but in those first few minutes of beginning
a new session at the computer, I’ve gotta have my
potato chips. Lays Kettle Cooked Original...sometimes with
salsa...sometimes naked...the chips, I mean...not me! ;)
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