We’ve launched a new series over here called Book Shots. It features some of the top mystery writers working today. No one has time to doom scroll endlessly to find a YouTube clip of an interview. We’re giving you quick Book Shots of authors and their newly released books.

Some may be familiar faces, and others–well, you might just find your new favorite author. You may have caught the most recent interview with Karen A. Phillips.

So, sit back, relax, and pour yourself the libation of your choice and enjoy Book Shots with Author Deborah Levison.

Debbie’s life has two parts: the first in Canada, where she attended the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto, and the second in Connecticut, with three children, two doodles, and one husband. 

She’s an award-winning writer, published in national and international media, and is the recipient of the State of Connecticut Martin Luther King 2024 “Courage Like Coretta Award” for her writing and speaking.

A NOVEL CRIME, Debbie’s third book, is about a romance writer desperate for a bestseller. Readers say it is “wickedly hilarious and utterly unputdownable” and “a crime caper full of twisty, razor-sharp wit, with a deliciously dark turn that will leave you breathless.” I know you’ll get a kick out of this new book.

Question: A Novel Crime features Marcy Jo Codburn, an author struggling to find her place in the world. Her life is unsettled and she’s desperate to taste success. This strikes a resonate chord with many of us writers. Where did the idea of Marcy and the story of A Novel Crime come from?

One April night I was driving down a lonely stretch of highway, listening to Stephen King’s On Writing. Maybe I had a little Misery on my mind, and maybe I was conjuring, as he might suggest, the next “situation” to write about, when Marcy Jo Codburn came to me like a long-lost relative appearing on my doorstep. I knew her. I recognized her as this villainous version of a not particularly talented writer who has given herself permission to misbehave in pursuit of success. And once I defined Marcy, with all her dreams and delusions and justifications, the story poured out. It was so much fun to see these people go off the rails.

Question: Marcy meets a popular, big name author and desperately wants Francesca Barber to mentor her. And the relationship doesn’t quite go as planned. Without naming names, did Francesca’s character evolve from anyone you might have met along the way?

Francesca is a figment of my imagination: a glamorous, wealthy celebrity author, and something of a diva. The vast majority of authors I’ve met, even the most successful, have been gracious and down to earth. 

Question: What was the hardest part about creating and writing Marcy’s character?

In the original iteration of the manuscript, Marcy came off as a little nastier. A little snarkier. Originally, her envy and sense of entitlement drove the plot. My editor suggested I soften her. Not every character needs to be likeable—in fact, some of my favorites are distinctly not—but she may have been a tad over the top. Now, she’s motivated by a more noble impulse: wanting to be a better role model for her judgmental daughter. I have to admit, I really enjoyed writing all the original sarcastic dialogue, but I had to rein it in.  

Question: A Novel Crime really highlights the pressure to produce, deadlines, publisher expectations that we all feel in our bones. Was this cathartic for you, or was it like looking into the abyss?

Honestly, I could so relate to Marcy’s being overwhelmed by a rewrite…her staring at the blank page and having no clue where to begin. I’ve felt that visceral dread of an upcoming deadline or the hollow feeling of not knowing where a story is going… or whether there’s even another book in me. In Marcy’s world it’s all relatable, but it’s made funny by watching her spiral out of control.

Question: This book is so different than a Nest of Snakes, or The Crate, how did you decide A Novel Crime would be the next book?

Because my first two books were heavy and serious, I wanted to write something lighter and funnier for my own mental health (and so I wouldn’t be pigeonholed.) A Novel Crime is satirical and cringy in a laugh-out-loud-while-you-shudder kind of way. And it’s dark. That’s where I typically go in my writing…the dark side of the human psyche, to explore depravity. 

Question: I understand you have served as a journalist—how did that experience help you when writing this new book?

Journalist and novelist are two different hats, right? My first book, The Crate, is a true crime about a murder that involved my family, and looking back I can pinpoint swaths that were written like a newspaper column. Writing in that way was in large part habit, but also partly a conscious decision in that I was very anxious not to embellish or elaborate on the facts I was reporting, or conversations I was repeating. I wanted very badly for it to be “nonfiction.”

With experience, I think I managed to curb the tendency a little. In A Nest of Snakes, my writing voice sounded different. By book three, I found myself using a very conversational tone.  

Question: There is a wonderful dark humor thread in A Novel Crime. How did you manage to keep the balance between wit and the story without losing either one?

I think dark humor and crime fiction go hand in hand—they require a willingness to look at the worst of human behavior without flinching. The humor doesn’t release us from the darkness, it actually draws us deeper. When Marcy says something acerbic or self-aware, it doesn’t undercut the menace; it makes her more dangerous, because we’re laughing with her even as we’re horrified by her. It makes us complicit. Marcy is delusional and ruthless but she’s also genuinely funny, and that’s what makes her so unsettling. 

Q. What’s coming up next for you?

I’m mired in book four, which is more of an adventure-thriller about a husband and wife on the brink of divorce who go on an exotic vacation as a last-ditch effort to save their marriage. You’ll never guess… things go awry! 

Here’s where you can find your copy of Debbie’s fantastic new book–and you should!

Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org

Let Debbie know what you think about A Novel Crime, or leave a question for her in the comments below.

Hope you enjoyed Book Shots, please keep checking back and give me your recommended mystery authors for a future session. Up next will be Chris McGinley and his debut novel Hail Holy Queens.

Book Shots

Illusion of Truth available now. Book #3 in the Detective Emily Hunter series

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org