What type of crime fiction do you write and why?
So far the type of mysteries I write seem to fall under the Cozy Mystery category although I have had a few reviews that say my books are not your usual cookie cutter cozy. I have to admit I didn’t know what a cozy was when I wrote the first cozy in my Fuchsia Minnesota Series,but in looking for a publishing company that seemed to be where my books fit. The reason I chose cozy or cozy chose me is because I see no need to use questionable language, gore or graphic sex to write a good mystery.
Tell us about the concept behind your books.
How did you get the idea? I get frustrated living in the real world where we have rules and regulations. Don’t get me wrong I feel we need laws and regulations to be able to live together in society but I feel things get carried too far when it comes to telling us what color our houses can be and what we can put in our yards. Getting older has been an experience for me because expectations that get put upon older people were frustrating to me also. Look at the commercials on television about older people to see what tone they set. I come from a generation of women that are tough and have defied what people think of old age. So my books are defiant of all those generalizations. I also wanted to take people away from the real world and its gloom and doom and make them laugh and give them some joy. The ideas just pop in my head and are silly and I began writing and they wind up as my cozy mysteries.
Tell us about your Detective / main character. 
My main character in my newest series and the first book in the series, The Penderghast Puzzle Protectors is Jezabelle Jingle. She is somewhere in her sixties, I never exactly tell her age, lives in the first neighbourhood built in Brilliant Minnesota where the story takes place, and she is sensible yet silly, snarky yet sharp, cares about her neighbours and isn’t afraid to snoop on their lives. It’s a good thing she does because she finds her neighbour Mr. Warbler in trouble. His trouble leads to a whole lot of trouble for the neighbourhood and her neighbours that she formerly kept an eye on with their strange habits get drawn into the story. Jezabelle keeps secrets too which weaves a mystery within the original mystery. We have only touched the tip of the iceberg in the first book with the character of Jezabelle. I like to build on my characters as the series progresses so my readers feel they know them and grow to love them.
What is more important in your books – the plot twists or the characters?
For me both plot and characters are important. You can’t have a good plot without strong characters and you can’t have good characters without a strong plot. For me they build on one another. Not only do you have to care about the story but you have to care about the characters for the book to be a success.
Do you plot the entire novel and know who did it before you start, or can that change?
When I start a book I usually have a character or two in mind and an idea of the plot. Usually I have no idea who did it or the twists and turns that will happen in the book. There are times I am writing and so involved in the story that I write something I hadn’t planned and I have to stop because I don’t know what is going to happen next and I am surprised at what I wrote.
Do you include humour?
My cozy mysteries have lots of humour. The characters are strange so some of them are humorous too in the concept of the entire character. I write to make people laugh and lighten their world and if they laugh just once or smile while reading my books I have accomplished my goal.
What are you working on now?
I am working on the fifth book in the Fuchsia Minnesota Series called Granny Pins A Pilferer. Also I am starting the second book in the Brilliant Minnesota Series. I also have a serious book in the works called The Joy Killer about finding joy as you grow older and the things in life that have killed your joy. It is a book of fiction. I also write my weekly column Something About Nothing where I write about things that are always under the surface but do not get said. We talk about the nothings in life when the somethings really are what wants to be said.
What makes you laugh?
My grandchildren make me laugh. I love to look at the world through the eyes of children. My shysters, Natasha and Boris keep me in stitches and I also love to read funny stories or books that are funny. And I laugh at myself because if we take ourselves too seriously we miss out on life.
Who would you like to invite for dinner?
I would like to invite my father for dinner. He died when I was twenty years old. He died four months before my son and his first grandchild were born. I didn’t know my dad as an adult and I would love to ask him his opinion and advice on so much. I would like to know him as a person not just my dad.
What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?
As of the day I write this I am alternating between the paperback Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger I invited him to have dinner with my Red Hat group next week and he accepted and he is coming to our library so I am excited about meeting someone with so much talent . I am listening to two audiobooks, The War Room by Chris Fabry and Happier At Home by Gretchen Rubin. I am also listening to The Penderghast Puzzle Protectors audio to approve it for release.
Websites: http://julieseedorf
Blog: http://sprinklednotes.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/julie.seedorf.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JulieSeedorf
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/julieseedorf
The Penderghast Puzzle Protectors: Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BDZWAE4
Paperback: Amazon: http://amzn.to/1REieD0
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1REisdp
Signed copies available on my website under SHOP: http://www.julieseedorf.com/#!shop/wroqv
Author Bio: Julie Seedorf is a Minnesotan. She calls dinner—supper, and lunch—dinner. She has had many careers over her lifetime but her favourite career was that as mother to her children. In later life she became a computer technician, opening her own business. In 2012 Julie signed a contract with Cozy Cat Press for her Fuchsia Minnesota Series. Books included in that series are Granny Hooks a Crook, Granny Skewers A Scoundrel, Granny Snows A Sneak and Granny Forks A Fugitive. Closing her computer business in January 2014 Julie has transitioned to becoming a full time writer adding free-lance work for various newspapers, along with continuing her column, Something About Nothing, which is now in book form in a book of the same name released in early 2015. Her children’s series, Granny’s In Trouble, gives her grandkids a hint of the young Grandma underneath the wrinkles. Her books are light and fluffy and highlight the fact in the midst of life we have to find the humour in bad situations to keep us going. “We all take ourselves too seriously and we need to have a little fun.” Julie secretly yearns to be like the Granny characters in her books. In February 2016 the first book in the Brilliant Minnesota Series was released titled, The Penderghast Puzzle Protectors. She also is part of a group mystery by Cozy Cat Press Authors titled Chasing the Codex. Julie’s serious side is revealed in a story included in the anthology, We Go On – Anthology for Veterans where the proceeds will go to veteran’s charities and is available on Amazon. Her blog Sprinkled Notes is a little scattered like Granny but lends itself to wisdom and occasional flip flops about life. You will also find her on Facebook and Twitter. She encourages you to enjoy the moments; they may carry you through a lifetime.
