Ask the Author: Rob Osler
Answered Questions (9)
Rob Osler
Hi Baylan, Thanks for reading and reaching out. At this time, I've no plans for third Hayden & Friends mystery. Publishing is a tricky business, so you never know. Never say never! I would love to see Hayden and Hollister solve more crimes, so I share your wish :) I am working on new -- different, historical -- series, Harriet Morrow Investigates. Book one, The Case of the Missing Maid, came out early this year. Thanks again for sending the note, Baylan.
Rob Osler
Hello Claudia! I am toiling away on book two in the Hayden & Friends series. With the support of stupendous readers like you, I am hopeful that Hayden and Mates on Dates can continue to roll merrily along into the future with many installments of silly fun--and savvy sleuthing--ahead. Thanks for the question, Claudia. Hope you have a splendid day!
Rob Osler
Hello Arane! THAT is an interesting question. I am . . . hmm . . . I'd say 92.5 percent done with the initial manuscript for the second book in the series. It features Burley in that she is central to the story--a lot more "page time," if you will. However, the crime fighting duo remains Hayden and Hollister. I hope to be able to more deeply explore these glorious ladies as the series rolls along--which thanks to readers like you--it hopefully will! Thanks!
Rob Osler
This has always struck me as an odd topic. While I get not "feeling it" sometimes, I have had decades of "not feeling" and still had to put on my pants and go to work. Now I don't even have to wear pants!
Rob Osler
I get to create characters and send them on adventures. With most other jobs, work is performed according to best practices or rules or norms under the supervision of a boss and commonly in collaboration with colleagues. Writing mysteries is free of that--at least at the draft stage. Then I get to work with gifted editors, both developmental and copy, who apply their expertise to make the stories shine.
Rob Osler
Two ideas merged. The first was that I wanted to create a story in the vein of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City--something gay and good-hearted, with a mystery. The second is Martin Scorsese's film After Hours, in which a character encounters a series of bizarre mishaps in a single night. The initial drafts of Devil's Chew Toy had the action occurring in a 24 hour period. Eventually the timeline expanded to over a week. But the general concept did help with pacing!
Rob Osler
I read my favorite authors and think, "Gosh, I wish I could do that. At least, I'll try!" Also, whenever I cross paths with someone odd, quirky, or downright strange, I get excited about how I can incorporate something about them into a character. I hope readers would agree that my stories are character driven. Once I have the right characters cast in their roles, I find a story evolves much more easily that were I to focus solely on plot. For me, the characters create the sub-plots as I set them free on the page.
Rob Osler
I'm tapping away on book two of the Hayden & Friends series. It's tentatively titled eau du Venom, and features Burley, the lovable giant, more prominently. When Burley’s childhood friend, Kennedy Osaka, visits Seattle, Burley finds the A-List social influencer dead in her hotel suite and becomes the cop’s top suspect. If Hayden and Hollister are to save their friend, they must find Kennedy’s real killer. But in an online world where
image is everything, not everything is as it appears, and no one, as it turns out, is to be trusted.
image is everything, not everything is as it appears, and no one, as it turns out, is to be trusted.
Rob Osler
Fight the urge to get up from the keyboard to play with the cat. Also, know, humbly, that whatever you do get down on the page can always, always be better. Accept criticism, but also know that not all opinions should be followed. In time, you'll learn to trust your voice, and the voices of your characters.
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