Sunday, April 10, 2022

SPOTLIGHT ON PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON #SpotlightSunday

 

Today is my day in the spotlight.  Goodness, it’s bright.  I’ve always been rather shy about being “in the spotlight” but I’ll do my best.

 

I’ve written a number of series, the most current of which is my Open Book Series, which is set in Upper Chumley-on-Stoke, a fictional town in England.  Our plan to go to England and Scotland had to be cancelled due to Covid so by setting my series “across the pond” I was able to do a bit of armchair traveling.

 

Penelope Parish has a degree in Gothic literature, which didn’t prove too useful until she decided to write her own Gothic novel.  No one was more astonished than Penelope when it became a bestseller.

 

But the heat was on to produce another bestseller and she was suffering from terminal writer’s block.  Hoping a change of scenery would get her creative juices flowing, she applied for a writer-in-residence position at the Open Book, a bookstore owned by Mabel Morris, a former MI6 analyst.  Currently there are three books in the series:  Murder in the Margins, A Fatal Footnote and Peril on the Page.  I am working on number four now.

 


I wrote the books as Margaret Loudon, which is actually one of my real names.  Peg is short for Margaret (I know—it doesn’t make any sense!) and Loudon is my surname from my first marriage.  I go by Peg and since I remarried after my husband died, I added Cochran to my name. If I need any more pen names, I still have my maiden name to go with.

 

I grew up in New Providence, NJ, a suburb 25 miles from NYC.   The town features in my humorous Lucille Series.  I lived in New York City for ten years where I worked for the Pierre Matisse Gallery (yes, he was the son of Henri!)  I eventually moved back to NJ, one town over from where I grew up.

 

My second husband and I had been dating for two years when he was offered a job


in Grand Rapids, Michigan.   We got married in June (coming up on 20 years this year) and moved to Michigan that July. That has to score pretty high on the stress scale!  Several of the small towns on Lake Michigan were the inspiration for my Cranberry Cove Series.

 


As much as I enjoy traveling, I also enjoy going back in time.  I’ve always loved movies from the 1930s and 1940s.  My Murder, She Reported Series is set in New York City in 1938.  Society girl Elizabeth “Biz” Adams gets a job as a crime photographer for the Daily Trumpet and with her reporter partner Ralph Kaminsky, ends up solving several murders.

 

I’ve wanted to write since I began to read.  In high school I wrote a “bodice ripper” I had to keep hidden from my mother.  I wrote three mysteries on the train on my commute to my job in NYC. They were great practice but went nowhere.  Then ten years ago, I sold my first cozy and it’s been a fantastic journey ever since.

 

So far, I have written the following series: Gourmet De-Lite, Vintage Lingerie (as Meg London,) Cranberry Cove, Lucille, Farmer's Daughter, Murder She Reported and Open Book. 

 

On a more personal front, I have two daughters, a stepdaughter, stepson and two granddaughters.  And hopefully more on the way eventually—my youngest got married in October.

 

Links:

My web site is PegCochran.com

Murder in the Margins (Open Book Series):  Amazon   Barnes & Noble
Berried Secrets (Cranberry Cove Series):  Amazon   Barnes & Noble Note: the e-book is currently $2.99
Murder, She Reported (Murder, She Reported series):  Amazon   Barnes & Noble
Confession Is Murder (Lucille Series):   Amazon    Barnes & Noble
No Farm, No Foul (Farmer's Daughter series)  Amazon    Barnes & Noble
Murder Unmentionable (Vintage Lingerie series) Amazon   Barnes & Noble.  Note: e-book is $2.99
Allergic to Death (Gourmet De-Lite series)  Amazon    Barnes & Noble   Note: e-book is $2.99

 

 

10 comments:

  1. What a fascinating history you have, Peg - and so many publishing successes!

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  2. Thank you for sharing more about your life and work, Peg. You have a fascinating history (working with the son of Matisse, wow!) and a deep well to draw on for your stories. Happy spotlight day! ~ Cleo

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  3. Very interesting and, yes, quite a bunch of experience to tap into.
    I particularly enjoy the Murder She Reported books.

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    1. Thanks, Libby. Those were my favorites to write!

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  4. I enjoyed reading about your varied experience and the story of your pen names. I stand in awe of anyone who writes books in many different series. Congratulations on your latest one.

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  5. Hi Peg! You have a wonderful background. I admire authors who can write so many different series. You truly inspire me!

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  6. Peg,
    This was wonderful. I'm thoroughly impressed.

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  7. Congratulations on your success Peg--and your ability to roll with changes! Readers might be interested to know that you and I grew up in adjoining towns in New Jersey at almost the same time...something about the water makes for a mystery writer?

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  8. Dear Peg,
    And everyone probably knows by now that you're as good a cook as you're a wonderful writer!

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  9. Hi Peg, I remember your first husband Mike as I worked with him at YPO. Jill

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