Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Bluette Matthey

Book Title:  Homicide Herault

Released:  12/25/22

Genre:  Mystery

Interview by Heather L. Barksdale

What inspired you to write “Homicide Herault”?

Matthey: All of my Hardy Durkin Travel Mysteries take place in off-the-beaten path European locales which I have personally explored and enjoyed. The setting for Homicide Hérault is Beziers, France (located in the Herault department in the South of France) where I currently live. Beziers is a fascinating small city, the oldest in France, depending on who you ask, and it is chock full of amazing bits of history and legend dating back centuries. Beziers begged to be the setting for Homicide Hérault.

How did you come up with the names of your main characters?

Matthey: The names of my characters evolve as the personalities are developed … the names often become a character trait in their own right.

Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?

Matthey: I take a boots-on-the-ground approach to my work and do a tremendous amount of research when writing. The teacher part of me (my profession in a former life) likes to share the history and culture behind each setting and I try to be accurate and, at the same time, engaging. Our world and its inhabitants are such an amazing space; I want to share it with my readers.

If "Homicide Herault" was adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?

Matthey:  Hardy Durkin ---- Eric Winter or Jack Lowden

Alain Clotiers ---- David Tennant

Luc Buvain ----- some guy built like a BSH

When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?

Matthey: When I get stuck writing I don’t argue with it or follow the snake down the gopher hole. I take a walk, a trip, change of venue. And then I try approaches from

numerous angles. It’s no good trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. The writer is the creator: he/she can do anything (within reason, or not).

Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?

Matthey: Enjoy what you do, and don’t give up!

What is your favorite genre, book, and/or author?

Matthey: I love mysteries! I’ve been reading them since elementary school and haven’t stopped. I treasure the classics (Dame Agatha, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rex Stout, Ngaio Marsh) and also enjoy James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly … a close second are espionage thrillers.

What are you working on next?

Matthey: I am finishing up the second mystery of a second series, set in the late 1950’s in a small Midwest town. Two Murders Too Many was my first in the series …. Not as glam as Hardy Durkin traversing Europe, but it all comes down to people. Right? I am also getting ready to launch the Tuscany (Italy) edition to the travel app I developed, Potty Poche. It’s a great little travel app that highlights must- see destinations in the Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence areas of the South of France, and Tuscany is my latest addition.

Interested in checking out the book for yourself?

Find it for purchase here

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