FEATURED AUTHOR: R. FRANKLIN JAMES

ABOUT THE BOOK

In his will, blackmailer Matthias Bell let his victims off the hook, and probate attorney Hollis must track them down to return the damaging goods he had on them. But Bell was murdered, making these victims suspects. Hollis steps in, and finds out quickly that sins do follow after the grave. Meanwhile, all is not calm in the rest of her life. Her estranged mother needs her kidney, her fiancé is on a dangerous mission, and she’s hard-pressed to help a dying client find peace of mind. 

LOVE OR HATE INTERVIEW WITH R. FRANKLIN JAMES

A few of your favorite things: 
A good Malbec, Hydrangea, anything by Alicia Keyes, a river view, a painting by Monet.
Things you need to throw out:
Book research papers, back sales receipts, clothes I no longer wear, Christmas boxes
.

Things you need in order to write:
Computer, thesaurus, quiet, glass of water, daylight, blocks of time.
Things that hamper your writing:
Phone calls, household errands, family interruptions
.

Things you love about writing:
Spinning a story, finding the right words, “seeing” my characters.
Things you hate about writing: 
Publisher deadlines, marketing, promotional events.

Hardest thing about being a writer:
Publisher deadlines, marketing, promotional events
.
Easiest thing about being a writer: 
Using my imagination, generating plot ideas
.

Things you love about where you live:
No earthquakes, natural beauty, night sky, good neighbors.
Things that make you want to move:
Rural accommodations (wells, septic, propane, etc.); excessive crime, lack of cultural access.

Things you never want to run out of:
Books, food, curiosity, problem-solving, love, good health.
Things you wish you’d never bought: 
Purchases under time  pressure
.

Favorite foods: 
Gumbo, Lasagne, Shrimp or Crab Louie.
Things that make you want to throw up: 
Ignorant people, mean people, lima beans.

Favorite music or song:
Too many and too varied. From “Happy” by Pharell Williams to “Clair de Lune” by Debussy.
Music that make your ears bleed:
Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.

Favorite beverage:
Wine
.
Something that gives you a pickle face:  
Aloe Juice.

Favorite smell:
Fresh mowed grass.

Something that makes you hold your nose:
Urine.

Something you’re really good at:
Organizing anything
.
Something you’re really bad at:
Selling anything
.

Something you like to do: 
Read and write, travel
.
Something you wish you’d never done: 
Worked for an employer I hated
.

Last best thing you ate:
Grilled lamb in the north of France.

Last thing you regret eating: 
A cheese omelet on an plane trip – I was sick for days.

Things you’d walk a mile for:
A good dinner with the best wine.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: 
An unsanitary kitchen/cook.

Things you always put in your books:
Character quirks.

Things you never put in your books:
Senseless cruelty.

Favorite places you’ve been:
Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Montreal, New York, San Francisco, Yosemite and Martinique.  
Places you never want to go to again:
Idaho.

Things that make you happy: 
Lazy fall days listening to good music near a river bed.

Things that drive you crazy:
People who whine over circumstances rather than fixing the circumstances.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: 
Took a river raft trip down the rapids.

Something you chickened out from doing:
Sky diving.

The last thing you did for the first time:
Chaired an international writers’ convention
.
Something you’ll never do again:
Sing out loud in public

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

R. Franklin James, a University of California Berkeley grad, followed a career of political advocacy with writing mysteries. In 2013 her debut novel, The Fallen Angels Book Club, was published by Camel Press. This was her first book in the Hollis Morgan Mystery Series followed by Sticks & Stones, The Return of the Fallen Angels Book Club, and book four, The Trade List. Her fifth book, The Bell Tolls was released in June 2017. James resides in northern California.

Connect with the author:
Website  |    Facebook  |  Twitter  

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble