Wow – C. S. Poe has a lot going on. Check it all out here! I escaped into her Memento Mori Series with glee – review to hit my blog on August 12!

Check out this interview and then scroll down to take a chance on winning Book 1 of the Memento Mori Series – Madison Square Murder!

JENNIE: Thinking back to before you were published, did your first book find you or did you find it?          

POE: This is the literary equivalent of: which came first, the chicken or the egg? I suppose I found my first story (it was about a bird named Chickey when I was maybe six?) but the act of creating and storytelling has always felt natural and come to me without trying. I was meant to be an author, I think.

JENNIE: In your book series, which came first, the story or your memorable main characters? And who leads the plot line, those characters or you?

POE: The character comes first—sort of. The running joke with readers who know me is that I plan nothing when starting a book. I go in with only vibes. But I run the show. After all, the characters aren’t real.

JENNIE: Your social media posts show you thrive in New York City. Where some might find chaos, you seem to find potential. Would you write the same way if you lived on a ranch in the middle of nowhere?

POE: I’ve lived all over, including Key West and Ibaraki, Japan. My process has never changed due to my physical location, but the settings of my books do. I’m very much a proponent of not writing about places I’ve never been—but even more so, never lived in. Setting is an omnipresent character in a book, so if I hadn’t ever lived in New York City, it’s unlikely my books would be set here. Authenticity is far to important for me to wing it.

JENNIE: What is your easiest series to write, and why?

POE: I feel like with every new series, I actually up the expectation and execution so much that they’re all pretty difficult to write, and each for their own reason. But An Auden & O’Callaghan Mystery is, I’d have to say, while still difficult, it is less stressful. I co-write this mystery series with my wonderfully talented friend and fellow CMC attendee, Gregory Ashe, and being able to riff off each other or brainstorm the difficult scenes together takes some of the pressure away that I otherwise feel on solo projects.

JENNIE: Do you have a favorite character among those you’ve created? If so, what makes them special to you?

POE: From a purely artistic standpoint, I’d have to say that Everett Larkin of the Memento Mori series is my favorite, as he has provided me with such an incredible creative outlet as of late. I attribute a lot of my recent growth as a storyteller to the challenges of his character.

JENNIE: With so many characters and storylines running wild in your brain, how do you decide what to write next?

POE: I have a strict production schedule I keep to, and with the exception of my co-written series, I only work on one book at a time. While writing is art, publishing is a business, so I am very cognizant of maintaining that healthy balance.

JENNIE: What can you tell us about your soon to be released Book 4 in your Memento Mori series?

POE: That I’ve written it twice! Joking aside, I did toss the original, half finished manuscript because I wasn’t satisfied with how the plot was progressing and affecting the characters. It felt very deus ex machina. This new version is way better.

JENNIE: What is one thing you want all new readers to know about you?

POE: My penname is an homage to my three favorite non-contemporary authors: Lewis Carroll, William Shakespeare, and Edgar Allan Poe—C.S. Poe.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed this Coastal Magic Convention Featured Author Spotlight post. C. S. Poe will be one of the amazing authors we’ll be hanging out with during the 13th annual reader weekend in Daytona Beach, FL, Feb 20-23,2025.

For a full list of Featured Authors, info about the weekend, and link to register to attend, visit http://www.CoastalMagicConvention.com. And be sure to watch for more Featured Author spotlights coming up here each month!