Greta Boris is the author of The 7 Deadly Sins, standalone novels of psychological suspense. Ordinary women. Unexpected Evil. Taut psychological thrillers that expose the dark side of sunny Southern California. Her stories have been called atmospheric, twisty, and un-put-downable.
She’s also the Co-Creator of The Author Wheel, a site for writers on writing, and a popular conference speaker and workshop instructor. She describes her work (and her life) as an O.C. housewife meets Dante’s Inferno. You can visit her at http://gretaboris.com.
We are talking today with Greta Boris about her intriguing series about the 7 Deadly Sins. Let’s get started.
Jann: Where did you get the idea to write about the seven deadly sins?
Greta: I took a course on writing a series and learned that there are many different kinds. I knew I wasn’t ready to write the typical mystery series with the same sleuth appearing in every book, and I really enjoyed suspense stories that revolved around an “every-woman” kind of character. I needed a theme that could tie those kinds of stories together while allowing them to also stand alone. Since all crime and most stupid mistakes–which my characters always make–stem from one or more of the seven deadlies, it seemed a good fit.
Jann: You have a theme for each book—what comes next? Do you work on your characters or the plot first?
Greta: Since the character for the next in series is always introduced in the book before and often characters show up in many stories, I guess you could say I work on the characters first. However, I also think some characters lend themselves to certain kinds of stories so the two—plot and character—evolve together.
Jann: You have written and published four of the deadly sins. The Scent of Wrath, A Margin of Lust, The Sanctity of Sloth, The Color of Envy. Did you know in advance the order of the sins you wanted to write for this series? Why did you start with wrath?
Greta: Actually, the first book is A Margin of Lust. I wish I had started with 
Wrath because my book got confused with erotica and romance novels in the beginning! The order comes from the order in which the sins are punished in Dante’s Inferno. The more severe the sin, the farther down in the circles you find it. Lust is at the top, not considered too bad by Dante. Pride is punished in the lower circles of hell. It’s not necessary to read them in order, however. Readers can start with the plot that sounds most interesting, or start at the beginning.
Jann: Your main characters so far are all women. Will this be the case in the remaining books? Why?
Greta: Yes. Selfishly, I wanted to explore new careers vicariously through my characters. Gwen is a Realtor for high-end beach real estate. Olivia works in a Pilates studio and spends a bunch of time experimenting with essential oils. Abby is a writer and Rosie an interior designer. I’m interested in all these things and or have dabbled in them. It’s easier for me to mind-meld with a woman since I am one.
Jann: A Pinch of Gluttony, book five in the series, debuts today. Congratulations!! Honey Wells is your main character. Who is Honey and what challenges does she have to overcome?
Greta: Honey is a chef, shop owner, and cooking instructor. When the story opens, she’s hiking with her very fit fireman husband, because she’s had a bad doctor’s report. She’s overweight, high-cholesterol, insulin resistant, etc. Her problems are exacerbated by the fact that her brother-in-law has disappeared with most of their savings, so she’s working around the clock to make up the difference. When she and hubby find a dead body everything gets much worse. Dead bodies tend to have that effect on things.
Jann: Do you have a sin you like the best? The least? Why?
Greta: I’ve really enjoyed writing them all. I think The Color of Envy was 
the most difficult because it’s my besetting sin. I’m more apt to struggle with envy than the others. Maybe because of that, I also think it might be the best of the bunch so far. However, my publisher loves The Sanctity of Sloth most, and my editor thinks A Pinch of Gluttony is best.
Jann: What do you hope readers will take away from this series?
Greta: I hope they will be both entertained and challenged. We all have blind spots and sometimes it’s easiest to recognize our own through watching someone else screw up. A book reviewer who featured The Sanctity of Sloth on her website said the book made her cry in some sections because she related to Abby. She loved watching Abby’s struggle to act even when the consequences of not acting were dire then, ultimately, overcoming her reticence. Others were very irritated by Abby, but understood Gwen’s lust for success.
Jann: Are you working on book six? Can you tell us which sin you have selected and when it will be available?
Greta: Yes! I’m working on The Key of Greed, and saving pride for last. It’s a fun take on a locked room mystery. Willow, my main character, is younger than most of the others. She’s Honey’s (A Pinch of Gluttony) daughter. She’s a violinist, pregnant, and engaged to be married. I believe it’s scheduled for release February, 2021.
Jann: What are you working on now? Can you tell us about your next project?
Greta: As I said, I’m writing Greed now, but I’m also planning a new series—The Mortician Murder Mystery series. It’s about a young, Rock-a-billy hairstylist to the aged who gets a request to do the hair and makeup for one of her client’s funerals. When she gets to the mortuary, she discovers the woman’s death, just like her hair color, wasn’t as natural as everybody thought. It’s so much fun to write something with a bit of humor for a change. The Seven Deadly Sins have moments here and there, but they’re not funny books. The other series is much more light-hearted despite the name!
Jann: What’s the funniest (or sweetest or best or nicest) thing a fan ever said to you?
Greta: I just received a review for Gluttony that said my writing was a cross between Kathy Reichs’ and Karin Slaughter’s. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Jann: Do you have a website, blog, twitter where fans might read more about you and your books?
Greta: I have a website, http://gretaboris.com/,where readers can read my occasional ponderings, find out more about my books, and pick up a free novella, The Escape Room. I wrote a novella prequel to the Sins series called The Origin of Sin, which is available on Kindle Unlimited at the moment. The Escape Room takes those same characters and sends them into an escape room game that goes horribly wrong. It’s lots of fun. I’m also on Facebook and occasionally Twitter. https://www.facebook.com/greta.boris/
https://twitter.com/GretaBoris
Thank you Greta for joining us here on A Slice of Orange. You have a very fascinating series with wonderful characters. Good luck with A Pinch of Gluttony!
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Jill Piscitello is a teacher with a passion for writing and an avid fan of multiple literary genres. Although she divides her reading hours among several books at a time, a lighthearted story offering an escape from the real world can always be found on her nightstand.
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Glynnis Campbell is a USA Today bestselling author of swashbuckling “medieval action-adventure romances,” mostly set in Scotland, with over two dozen books published in six languages.
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Greta Boris is the author of The 7 Deadly Sins, standalone novels of psychological suspense. Ordinary women. Unexpected Evil. Taut psychological thrillers that expose the dark side of sunny Southern California. Her stories have been called atmospheric, twisty, and un-put-downable.She’s also the Co-Creator of The Author Wheel, a site for writers on writing, and a […]
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Greta Boris is the author of The 7 Deadly Sins, standalone novels of psychological suspense. Ordinary women. Unexpected Evil. Taut psychological thrillers that expose the dark side of sunny Southern California. Her stories have been called atmospheric, twisty, and un-put-downable.She’s also the Co-Creator of The Author Wheel, a site for writers on writing, and a […]
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Barb loves reading, writing and animals, not necessarily in that order. She writes contemporary and paranormal stories of love, laughter and magic, and you’re going to know there’ll be a feature creature in there somewhere.
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