My guest today is Carol Balawyder. Carol holds degrees in both criminology and literature. It is this mixture that brings her to want to write crime novels, but it was her divorce that led her to write fiction about being single in mid-life.

Carol’s short stories have appeared in The Anthology of Canadian Authors Association, Room Magazine, Entre Les Lignes, Mindfulness.org and Carte Blanche. She also manages a blog where she posts series on: Female Nobel Prize Laureates, Famous Writers’ Desks, The Femme Fatale, Interviews with crime writers on How They Got Published, Ten Great First Dates and posts on writing.

Judy: Tell us a bit about your latest novel, Cafe Paradise

Carol: The protagonist in Cafe Paradise is Suzy Paradise (who also was one of the four main characters in Getting To Mr. Right). At fifty-two she’s finally fulfilling a long cherished dream of owning her own café when a giant chain opens across the street. As she fights to save her business she learns to re-define the meaning of work, family and romance so she can find her own formula for happiness.

Cafe Paradise takes place in  two up-and-coming boroughs in Montreal.

Griffintown or The Grif, was quickly becoming a vibrant neighborhood. As part of a revitalization project, the city was building parks, playgrounds and bicycle paths in the area and attracting artists and hi-tech enterprises. It seemed like the perfect place to open a cafe .

The second setting is in The Plateau, specifically Prince Arthur Street.

The street had been Montreal’s hippie haven and the home of its counterculture movement in the ‘60s. A number of artists and playwrights still lived around the square.

What’s the best writing advice you have ever read  continue reading here 

 The other interview was with Heather Debreceni from The Divorce Summit website. 

This was my first experience doing a voice interview and by listening to much more seasoned and very interesting guests that were part of this Dating Edition summit, I discovered how much I love listening to interviews while lying in bed at night! 🙂