Author Interview: Christyne Morrell and The Case of the Scarlet Snakebite Giveaway

 

Happy Monday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Christyne Morrell here to share about her MG mystery, The Case of the Scarlet Snakebite. I interviewed Christyne when she was a debut MG author, when Kingdom of Secrets was released in 2021. She also shared a guest post on juggling work with writing in 2022 when her MG sci-fi Trex was released. 

Christyne’s newest MG, The Case of the Scarlet Snakebite, is a mystery, one of my favorite genres, and I’m super excited to read her book. I already reserved it at my library.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads: 

In this middle-grade mystery, a twelve-year-old obsessed with Agatha Christie suspects every guest at her mother's bed-and-breakfast of hiding secrets. That is until a real crime rocks the quaint B&B, and her mother is framed for it.

When the wealthy Willoughby family checks into her mother’s bed-and-breakfast for the weekend, Amber Adler is certain a crime is going to be committed right under their roof. And she should know—she’s read every Agatha Christie novel in the library and her father is a world-famous detective. Sure, Amber has made a few false accusations (and once got the SWAT team sent to her math teacher’s house), but this time, she’s positive that one of their guests is up to no good.

So it comes as no surprise to Amber when someone steals a priceless ruby belonging to the crotchety Willoughby patriarch. But what she didn't expect was for her mother to be framed for it. Now, Amber must call on everything she knows about solving mysteries to find the stone and catch the real culprit before the family checks out—and learn that sometimes, people are the greatest mystery of all. 

Hi Christyne! Thanks so much for joining us. 

1. Where did you get the idea for The Case of the Scarlett Snakebite? 

Hi Natalie, it’s lovely to be back on the blog! The idea for THE CASE OF THE SCARLET SNAKEBITE came to me on my fourth or fifth rewatch of Knives Out, one of my all-time favorite films. I wanted to create the same experience for kids – a cozy mystery in a rickety old house with delightfully diabolical suspects and a plucky young protagonist. Add to that a dash of Agatha Christie (of course!), and the story came together from there. So far, the trade reviews have called it “a fun-filled homage to cozy mystery classics” (Publishers Weekly) and “the absolute definition of a cozy mystery” (The Bulletin), so I think I did what I set out to do!   

2. Those are great reviews. This is your first mystery. How did you learn to write one, and how did you plot out your story? Did you use anything you learned from Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, which you said you used in plotting out your first book, when writing this story? 

My first lessons in mystery writing came from the queen: Agatha Christie. I’ve read so many of her books, along with modern successors like The Thursday Murder Club, that I’ve developed a good working knowledge of the story beats of a compelling mystery. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t need a little extra help plotting SCARLET SNAKEBITE! 

I’m so used to plotting using the standard three act structure, but mysteries follow a different formula. I quickly found that my standard templates and beat sheets weren’t quite working for this book. Luckily, my old standby, Save the Cat Writes a Novel, has a separate section on plotting mysteries, which was very helpful in boiling down the elements of this type of story.      

3. I’ll have to check out that section of Save the Cat Writes a Novel. From the blurb, it sounds like Amber is suspicious and nosy about all the guests at her mom’s B&B, even before the Willoughby family came to stay. What are a few of the other character traits that make her a sympathetic character? 

Amber Adler was such a blast to write! She’s naturally suspicious, as you rightly mention, but it comes from a good place – namely, from the desire to reunite her family and salvage her mom’s good name. 

As readers discover in the first chapter of the book, Amber’s father is a famous detective who left their small town for New York City, where they have “better crimes” for him to solve. Not one to give up easily, Amber has made it her mission to identify all the juicy crimes in her town in order to lure him back home. But she winds up getting more than she bargained for! As the Willoughby family unleashes chaos on her mom’s bed-and-breakfast and a priceless jewel goes missing, Amber is suddenly confronted with a new goal: to catch the culprit and keep her mom from being framed for the theft! Yes, Amber can be a bit sneaky and quick to make accusations, but she’s doing it for all the right reasons. And her antics – eavesdropping, wearing ridiculous costumes, hiding out in trash bins – are certainly never boring!     

4. This is your fourth middle grade novel. You’ve written a fantasy, sci-fi, ghost story, and now a mystery. What’s made you stick with writing all middle grade stories and switch so much between genres? 

I’ve always been a passionate reader, but books really became a salve for me when I hit the middle grade years. Books were both an escape and a guide during that confusing transition from childhood to adulthood. I think that’s why I’m still drawn so strongly to middle grade books. I’ve started to slowly branch out into other age categories (more on that later), but I’ll always return to writing for kids. Quite simply, they are the most rewarding audience to write for. 

When it comes to genre, on the other hand, I’m like the dog from Up who gets distracted when a squirrel crosses its path! I read widely across genres, and I love to try my hand at writing them, too. It keeps me engaged and challenged as a writer. But it doesn’t mean my books are all wildly different, as some people might assume. They all share common traits, regardless of how they’re categorized on the shelf. For example, even though SCARLET SNAKEBITE is my first traditional mystery, each of my novels contains a mystery at its heart. And I’m a sucker for a great plot twist, so you can expect loads of surprises in any story I write. And no matter what I do, I can’t seem to escape my weakness for puns and silly wordplay (in SCARLET SNAKEBITE, the librarian provides most of it!).     

5. I love books that contain a mystery and plot twists too. You still haven’t quit your day job as a lawyer, which is a demanding career. I know because I was one too. You’ve talked about using the 30-minute rule to stay productive as an author in our interview and your guest post. Can you explain this rule? Do you still follow it? 

The 30-minute rule has been a mainstay of my writing career for over a decade, and yes, I still practice it to this day. I dedicate 30 minutes a day to writing, no matter what. But I want to emphasize an important distinction in the previous sentence: I don’t write for 30 minutes a day, I devote 30 minutes a day to writing. My writing time can be used for research, reading craft books, reading novels as inspiration, attending a writing course, chatting with writing friends, etc. What’s important to me is that I reserve a small part of each day to acknowledge and celebrate the fact that I’m a writer. As you say, I have a demanding job, so if I don’t make an effort to hold onto my writing identity, it could easily get lost in the shuffle.   

6. Thanks for the clarification. How have you continued to sell so many stories when many authors struggle to sell their stories after their debut book? What advice do you have for other writers? 

To be honest, I don’t focus on the salability of a book while I’m writing it. Sometimes, I’ll email my agent with a list of the ideas bumping around in my head, and she’ll guide me to the ones that might be most attractive to editors. But I never present her with anything I’m not already excited about in the first place. There are three reasons I’ll never try to write for the market. First, trends change quickly, and what is popular in one sales cycle will be over-saturated by time I’m done with my manuscript. Second, a story evolves so much during the writing process that the final product may look nothing like the initial pitch. And third, writing for the market would negate the reason I write in the first place. If a story doesn’t worm its way under my skin and keep me up at night, why would I go through all the effort of writing it? Yes, I’ve had to shelve a few manuscripts that didn’t hit at the right time, but at least I wrote them from the heart. And I hold out hope that one day the market will be ready for them! So my advice for other authors is pretty basic – be patient and write what you love. 

7. Has your approach to your social media platform and marketing your books changed since you were a debut author? How? 

My marketing approach has definitely evolved since the first book. When Kingdom of Secrets came out, I joined a large chat group of debut authors. It was a great place to share ideas, ask questions, and commiserate. The only drawback was that I was constantly aware of what everyone else was doing to promote their books, including authors with bigger budgets and flashier titles than me. As a newbie, I assumed I had to do it all – printed swag, pre-order campaigns, blog posts, speaking engagements – just to keep pace. And on top of all that, I felt pressure to maintain an active social media presence (for which I am entirely unequipped!). I quickly discovered that most of my activities didn’t move the needle at all in terms of sales. 

That said, I don’t regret making a big marketing push during my debut year. Even though not everything was successful, it helped me figure out what works and what doesn’t for me. A lot of seasoned authors will tell you to focus on the types of marketing you enjoy, but how do you know what you enjoy until you give it a try? Here’s an example – before my first book came out, the idea of an in-person school visit terrified me. So many little faces, looking up at me to entertain them for an hour? Panic-inducing! I’d much rather have done a virtual visit from the safety of my office. But after I tried them both, my opinion was flipped on its head. The energy of the in-person visit was unmatched, while I found the virtual visits lackluster in comparison. So my advice would be to try lots of different tactics (so far as your budget and mental health allow) so you can narrow down the list of things that work for you. These days, I focus on in-person school visits, bookstore events, speaking to aspiring authors, and strengthening the connections I’ve made with people in the industry. 

8. Have you been able to connect to librarians in schools and libraries over the years? What tips do you have for authors wanting to make these important connections? 

I’m fortunate to have encountered many supportive, engaged, and inspiring librarians over the years – school librarians, in particular. I met most of them through direct mailings I did for my earlier books (side note – postcards are a better investment than bookmarks when it comes to printed swag, IMO). 

My first piece of advice is to keep in mind that librarians are BUSY, especially in the current landscape, and they don’t have time to reach out to every author who contacts them. The response rate to my postcard and email campaigns is usually around 10%. But that doesn’t mean the marketing isn’t making an impact. And the librarians who do respond are worth their weight in gold! 

My second piece of advice is to compile a running list of librarians (and teachers, booksellers, etc.) that you’ve interacted with. that list to promote your next book and announce any other author milestones. Not only are librarians loyal – I tend to visit the same local schools over and over with each new book – but they will spread the word to their colleagues and increase your network even more. Trust me, nothing enhances your author cred more effectively than a positive review from a librarian!   

9. What are you working on now? 

I’ve been flipping back and forth between two projects lately. As I mentioned, I’m working on an adult project that is still in its earliest stages, and therefore under wraps. My other project, which will be more exciting to your audience, is a middle grade novel that takes place in the same universe as Trex, my sophomore sci-fi novel. It features the same nefarious Company up to its old tricks, but this time my young protagonist has a different ability. She can read minds… 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Christyne. You can find Christyne at www.christynewrites.com and on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky at @christynewrites. 

Giveaway Details

Christyne’s publisher is generously offering a hardback of The Case of the Scarlet Snakebitefor a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by February 7th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address. 

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Christyne on her social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S. 

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.  

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Wednesday, February 25, I have an agent spotlight with Renee Runge and a query critique giveaway 

Sunday, March 1, I’m participating in the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop 

Monday, March 2, I have a guest post by Donna Galanti and a giveaway of her MG The Secret Winners Club 

Wednesday, March 4, I have an interview with Stacey Lee and a giveaway of her YA Heiress of Nowhere 

Monday, March 9, I have an interview with Ciera Burch and a giveaway of her MG Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away 

Wednesday, March 11, I have an agent spotlight interview with Lindsey Aduskevich and a query critique giveaway

Monday, March 16, I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop 

I hope to see you on Wednesday!