Please welcome today's guest, Toby Neal, author of Blood Orchids. Toby grew up in Hawaii, and her familiarity with the islands adds
an authentic ring to the novel's setting, the sleepy Big Island town of Hilo. She credits her
counseling background in adding depth to her characters-from the villains to
Lei Texeira, the courageous and vulnerable heroine in the Lei Crime Series.
FAST FIVE: Toby, thank
you for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit today. Rather than a
Twitter “elevator pitch” of 140 characters (#hashtags included) can you share
with us a more detailed account of the novel and your research for Blood
Orchids (The Lei Crime Series)?
TOBY NEAL: I’m from
Hawaii and I’ve always wanted to read a really good suspense/romance set here,
that showcases the unique setting, culture, multiethnic people and dialects,
and yet keeps your attention via riveting story alone. I’ve never found one
that really did that—Hawaii novels are often written by outsiders, or are too “niche”
to appeal to a mainstream audience. I finally decided to write the kind of
book(s) I wanted to read! Blood Orchids is the first of a series of
crime/suspense/romance novels starring Leilani Texeira, a flawed but courageous
young police officer who’s overcome her past and deals out justice to those who
need it.
The central crime in Blood Orchids was sparked as an idea by a tragedy
that happened in my community—two teen girls were drowned. I was a grief
counselor in the crisis team that went to the high school to work with the
students in the aftermath. At first we were told they were victims of foul
play, though later it turned out to have been accidental. For months after,
perhaps because it was so traumatic to hear they’d been murdered, I thought
about it, and wondered what it would be like to try and solve such a crime in a
small Hawaii community.
FAST FIVE: With the heavy responsibilities
inherent in the duties of Police Officers, their work often consumes their lives.
Is “the
job” the most important part of your protagonist’s life?
TOBY NEAL: Lei is
physically and emotionally brave. She’s a sexual abuse survivor, and suffers
from blackout/memory loss, and a lot of anxiety. She almost overcompensates
because of that, and can be impulsive and put herself at risk—one of the bad
decisions she makes lands her in mandatory counseling, which is the best thing
for her as she meets unconventional Dr. Wilson who helps her with the past…
which unfortunately is still affecting the present. Lei is single,
intimacy-phobic, and hypervigilant. In the police department, these
characteristics become assets! Her police officer job gives her a place to
belong, to channel her anger, to express her drive for justice. She is
persistent and has good instincts, which also help her solve cases.
FAST FIVE: The Mystery/Suspense
genre is the focus of Fast Five interviews, but what unique twist makes your
novel stand out?
TOBY NEAL: The setting.
Hawaii is a unique place with multicultural people and special challenges. My
protagonist is Hawaiian, Japanese and Portuguese—and her background is a big
part of the story, as people’s connections and heritage are very important in
Hawaii. In the series, Lei goes to a different island in each book. This will
give people a flavor of how each Hawaiian island is special and has unique
characteristics.
FAST FIVE: How does your
main character’s profession draw her into suspenseful situations, (murder, for
instance?)
TOBY NEAL: As a police
officer she’s thrown into crime solving. But in Orchids, she has to fight to be
on the case. She cares about it and obsesses over it, and that tends to happen
whenever she’s on a big one.
FAST FIVE: Is this book
part of a series, and are you working on a sequel?
TOBY NEAL: Yes. As I
said, there are four books so far in the Lei Crime Series: Blood Orchids, Torch
Ginger, Black Jasmine, and Broken Ferns.
I’m also taking a little
detour to write a suspense romance with one of the characters that appears in
the second two Lei books, FBI agent Marcella Scott, based out of Honolulu.
Marcella’s hot looks and cold mind make her deadly on crime, and deadly on
hearts! Fans of romantic suspense will love Stolen in Paradise, coming out
sometime in the next year.
FAST FIVE: I look
forward to each of the Lei Crime novels and to the romantic suspense of the FBI agent in
Honolulu. This is not a Fast Five question, more an “if/then” scenario: If
Paris is not an option, then where would you most like to spend your time
writing and why.
TOBY NEAL: Ha ha! I’d
never write in Paris, I’d be painting there! Too distracting!
Part of my “method” is
to take an annual, two week “retreat” by myself to some quiet location to start
a new book. I get serious work/planning done and kick off the novel. The rest
of the year, I plug away at it, while revising a previous work. I can really
work anywhere as long as I have electricity, coffee and a good bed.
But my favorite spot to
retreat to so far, is Antioch Ranch, a cabin/retreat place in Mendocino,
California. Reasonable rates, lovely people, beautiful quiet setting. I was
amazingly productive there.
FAST FIVE: Again, thank you for visiting today, Toby, and for sharing
detailed information about your Lei Texiera crime series.
For information on Toby Neal’s books, please visit her at:
