Stephanie R. Caffrey - Mistaken Identity #AuthorInterview

What is the first book that made you cry?

I’m not sure if this is the first book, but it is definitely the most memorable, Little Women made me cry. I read it in fourth grade, and you know, the whole Beth thing. Devastating to nine-year-old me.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Just get words on a page, they don’t need to be perfect. You can’t edit a blank page.

What does literary success look like to you?

Literary success looks like people, who are not related to me, or friends with me, reading my books. I simply want people reading, and hopefully, loving what I write.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

For the London Detective Agency, I did a lot of research about London, since I had never been, outside of a layover in Heathrow on our way to Greece for our honeymoon. So I did a lot of research about streets, and buildings, and what life is like there. For my current WIP, I did a lot of research into FBI Criminal Profiling. For both series’ I spent a few weeks prior to writing doing research before writing. But research is pretty ongoing as I write, since I’m a plantser.

Are you a full-time writer or do you have a day job? If so, what do you do?

I just went back to work full time after staying home with my kids for the last ten years. I am currently the building substitute teacher at the school my children attend.

Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

I do. In Mistaken Identity I have put in certain inside jokes or references that only some of my close friends or family would get. It’s sort of my love letter to them as a thank you for helping me during the process and for reading the book.

What was your hardest scene to write?

There’s a scene in Mistaken Identity where one of the characters is injured. It’s a very dramatic scene and really pushes the love story forward. However, deciding where the character should be injured that would look serious, but not take the character out for the rest of the book, was very difficult.

Are your characters inspired by real people?

Yes. Especially in Mistaken Identity. It’s my first novel, and I used a lot of my real friends and family to inspire several of the characters. And I think when those people read the book, they will know which ones were based on them.

 

 

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