Hobbies Our Characters Love

Ah, February the month of love, cold weather, and the need to have something to do–inside for those of us in cold climates. Do your characters have hobbies? How did they end up with that hobby? And do they have much time with all the sleuthing they do to pursue that hobby?

 

Jessie: My characters always have hobbies, likely because I do too! Edwina knits, gardens and reads. She is also a decent cook and enjoys entertaining guests in her home. Beryl loves traveling to new places, motoring in a automobile that is fun to drive and mixing up cocktails. Edwina is a rather proper woman of her time and sphere and her hobbies reflect that she has often valued what society has encouraged. Beryl, on the other hand, has made a deliberate decision to engage in pastimes that flaunt her disregard for convention. I will say she refrains from making cocktails whilst motoring!

Barb: I hadn’t thought about a hobby for Julia Snowden until Dru’s Book Musings interviewed her for A Day in the Life and asked about it. Julia works so much during the tourist season, it’s often hard to figure out how she solves the mystery, much less fits in anything else. The next book I am to write takes place in the off season, so I should think about it–though I more see Julia using her extra time to volunteer, perhaps at the library or historical society. Jane Darrowfield has plenty of hobbies–travel, gardening, bridge–but in retirement she finds they are not quite enough, which starts her down the road to her new job as a Professional Busybody.

Edith: Robbie Jordan picks up a crossword puzzle whenever possible, and since she’s a master at it, she does them in pen. Sometimes she creates a puzzle to help her think through an investigation. She also goes out for hard hilly bike rides to clear her mind and get her heart rate up. Mac Almeida? No hobbies have surfaced so far other than a daily walk, but birding on Cape Cod would be a natural. And Rose Carroll works too hard for a hobby – when she’s not helping pregnant or birthing women or solving crimes, she’s baking bread or growing herbs for her practice. Only the elite in the nineteenth century could afford to have hobbies!

 Liz: Stan Connor’s hobby has always been baking and cooking, although now that it’s turned into a job, she’s got to find other hobbies! Once she gets a little less busy, she’ll have time to sort that out. As for Maddie James, she loves music – and loves to watch live music. She’s even a closet singer, which pairs nicely with her new love interest’s gig in a band.

Julie: Lilly Jayne (in the Garden Squad series) gardens, which is a passion of hers. Her love of gardening gets her into conversations that helps with the sleuthing she and the rest of her team do. Delia is also a cook, which serves everyone well. In my Theater Cop series, Sully is an ex-cop who runs a theater company. Her hobby is eating. I just did the last round of edits on the next book in that series, and food plays an important role.

Sherry: Sarah Winston’s hobby of going to garage sales and finding bargains becomes her job in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mysteries. How fun would that be to have something that we love doing turn into a job? (I guess for me that would mean someone would pay me to read novels!) And as I think about Chloe Jackson for my new series I need to give her some hobbies. Chloe is an avid runner and loves water sports between that and work (former children’s librarian and now working in a bar) she doesn’t have a lot of time for other hobbies.

Readers: Do you have a favorite hobby? Or lots of hobbies?