Interview with Dru Ann Love

Happy New Year!

Many mystery writers and readers already know of Dru’s Book Musings but for those who don’t I’m happy to introduce you to Dru Ann Love, the force behind the popular blog which introduces readers to authors, their characters, and their books. The blog placed 21st on the list one of the 80 Best Mystery Book Blogs and Websites of 2024.

Why did you start Dru’s Musings?

I originally started the blog as a journal to keep track of books I read, simply because several times I found myself reading the same book. I would post very short (one- or two-line musings) and one day an author read one of my musings and suggested I continue doing them.

The blog you see today is because when I was learning how to grow your audience, the one factor that was mentioned was you need to have fresh content at least five days a week, and that is when I came of with my features, “A Day In My Life,” “Get To Know You,” and “A Word With The Author.”  I also have a list of monthly and weekly releases

What were your goals when you started? Do you think you accomplished them?

To keep track of the books that I read. Now it is to spread news about books and authors. Yes, I did accomplish what I set out to do with my blog. BTW I call my blog a feature blog since it’s more than a “review” blog.

How did you grow your audience?

Being consistent in what I was delivering and chatting with readers and authors to bring them to my blog. Also attending reader/fan conventions and being on panels helped to promote the work I was doing for the blog and authors

Were there any surprises along the way?

Yes, the big one was being given the MWA Raven Award in 2017. Also being nominated for an Anthony Award in 2015 for Best Critical Or Non-Fiction Work and in 2018 for Best Online Content. Both times I lost to Hank Phillippi Ryan.

“Ticket to Ride,” the short story you wrote with BOLO Books blogger Kristopher Zgorski has won the Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award awards. Neither of you had written fiction before so what inspired you to write a short story together?

We were approached by Josh Pachter to co-write a short story for his Beatles anthology. After a short thinking moment, we said yes to this wonderful opportunity.

Can you talk a little about your collaboration? About how it worked?

Because we are friends, we know each other’s strengths, and this aided in co-writing our short story. We each wrote a segment, critiqued it and so forth until we achieved the story that we wanted to tell. We reached out to Beta readers to give us insights in what we wrote and of course our editor gave us advice on what was needed to perfect our story. Once we got what we needed from the Betas and our editor, the story came together, and we were proud with what we have accomplished.

Was it a one off or are you writing now? 

For me if an opportunity to co-write another short story happens, I’ll consider it, but at the moment, it is a one-off. 

I know you are a great JD Robb fan. What is it that has kept you reading the series which now has fifty plus books?

Yes, I am a huge J.D. Robb fan and it’s the characters that keep me coming back. I want to know how Dallas handles the current homicide investigation and how her friends and Roarke keep her balanced. And the addition of Bella…love Dallas and her interactions.

What are your plans for 2025?

To continue helping spread the word on authors and their work.

Thank you, Dru, for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions.

Dru Ann Love is the proprietor of “dru’s book musings,” which includes the features, “A Day in My Life,” and “Get to Know You.” Dru Ann won the 2024 Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award for Best Short Story for “Ticket to Ride,” her first published short story – co-written with fellow blogger Kristopher Zgorski, which appeared in Happiness is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of The Beatles. In 2017, the Mystery Writers of America honored her with its Raven Award for outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside