FEATURED AUTHOR: CASSIDY SALEM

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bad karma, a rival suitor, and a deadly attack are enough to put a damper on any date.
Just when Adina’s social life is looking up, her night out is interrupted by the scream of police sirens. Afraid her bartender boyfriend might be accused of murder, Adina’s neighbor enlists her assistance, and in the process exposes her to the seamier side of illegal immigration and crime in the city. Hard as she tries to limit her involvement, the more Adina learns, the more she needs to know—until a case of mistaken identity lands her in hot water. Will she uncover the truth before it’s too late? Dying for Data is the second book in the Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth mystery series.

INTERVIEW WITH CASSIDY SALEM

How did you get started writing?

Like most authors, I have been writing all my life in various forms. Starting from school and college, in the context of assignments (I always did better on term papers than exams). But my writing was always semi-academic or technical in nature. I have always been an avid reader and thought about writing a book one day. Around 16 years ago, I made a career move and landed in technical writing. When you write technical manuals, your sentences must be short and concise—and almost always in the present simple tense. No room for creativity at all. Writing a novel was a way of challenging myself to be creative.

What do you think is hardest aspect of writing a book?
Plot. No doubt about it. Coming up with an original storyline. My characters seem to take care of themselves as I write.

What books do you currently have published?
I have published two books in the Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth series. The first, Think Murder, was released in 2015. Dying for Data was released this week.

How often do you tweet? 

At least once a day. I also try to retweet my fellow authors whenever I have time to get on Twitter. (I don’t use any automated retweet programs.)

How do you feel about Facebook?
It’s great for keeping in touch with geographically-remote family members, and has been a great tool for networking with other indie offers. I love it, but I definitely see the need to exercise caution in what you put out there in cyberspace on any form of social media.

What’s your favorite fast food?
That’s easy. Pizza!


How do you like your pizza? Growing up, my favorite pizza was the homemade pizza my dad would make—thick crust, tomato sauce, and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. I’ll occasionally make it that way at home. Even when I eat pizza out, I don’t go for all the toppings, just extra cheese.

Do you give your characters any of your bad traits?
A few little ones—I will confess to having a Diet-Coke habit and a scary loud sneeze.

What is your most embarrassing moment?
I have embarrassed myself more often than I’d care to admit. I’ll share one with you. For a while when I was in junior high school, long skirts with elastic waistbands were in style. One day, I got to school and crouched down to get something out of my locker, inadvertently stepping on the hemline. When I got up, the skirt stayed down.

Yikes! What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
As part of a final assignment in college for a course on adolescent development, we had to write a personal development paper—how events/people had played a part in becoming who we are. I put it off forever, until I had no choice but to hunker down and do the soul-searching the task entailed.

What’s one thing that very few people know about you? 

This one might qualify as an embarrassing moment—when I was in 5th grade, I broke my pinky finger kicking a ball. (No, that’s not a typo.)


What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
A picture that I took on a trip to Norway—a field full of wild Norwegian fireweed.


What’s your favorite smell?
Vanilla.


What’s your favorite color?
Blue
.

What are your favorite foods?
Chocolate, cheesecake.


What do others say about your driving?
I am directionally-challenged. Distract me for a minute and expect to take an unscheduled detour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cassidy Salem has always been an avid reader. She is especially fond of mysteries (both cozy and traditional). Over the years, her favorite mystery authors have included Agatha Christie, Kathy Reichs, Mary Higgins Clark, and John Grisham. Cassidy also enjoys reading historical fiction focused on American and world history, as well as the classics.

Cassidy has never met a dog she didn't like—a fact that influenced her decision to have the protagonist in her mystery series volunteer at a dog rescue center.

When she's not reading, Cassidy enjoys spending time with family and friends, and travels with her husband and son whenever possible. Her travels have taken her to destinations throughout the United States and Europe.



Connect with Cassidy:
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Buy the book:
Amazon