Saturday, May 19, 2018

FEATURED AUTHOR: KATHLEEN VALENTI




ABOUT THE BOOK

Former pharmaceutical researcher Maggie O’Malley is losing sleep. Constantine’s aunt is a multitasking sleepwalker who, in addition to wandering her stately home, prepares meals, folds laundry and, one winter night, stumbles across her husband with his throat slit. 

It’s a rude and gruesome awakening that’s upsetting to Aunt Polly. And interesting to the police. 

Maggie and Constantine work to uncover who killed the cosmetic surgery mogul and why. As they dig into the lives of those who knew him best, they discover that the truth is only skin deep and doctoring perception is a treatment with deadly side effects. 

A gripping page-turner with more twists than a surgeon’s suture, 39 Winks is a tale of lies, betrayals and greed that will keep you up at night. And looking over your shoulder.



BOOK DETAILS

Title: 39 Winks

Author: Kathleen Valenti

Genre: Medical Mystery/Thriller

Series: Maggie O'Malley Mystery, book #2

Publisher: Henery Press (May 22, 2018)

Print Length: 298 Pages
On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours







LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT INTERVIEW WITH KATHLEEN VALENTI


Things you need in order to write:
To write, I need a steady supply of coffee and licorice, not necessarily in that order. Peace and quiet also help, but those are in short supply when my children are around.
Things that hamper your writing:

For me, distractions are public enemy number one. Whether it’s Facebook, losing myself in another author’s book or going down the rabbit hole of research, distractions seem to lurk around every corner. They’re like Styrofoam. No matter how hard you try to get rid of them, they’re always there. 


Things you love about writing:
Creating the kinds of stories I love to read.
Things you hate about writing:
Deadlines! Like vegetables, they are a necessary evil.

Things you love about where you live:
I live in one of the most beautiful, amazing places on earth. (Of course, I could be a little biased.) It’s in a rain shadow at the foot of sleeping volcanoes and has so many recreational opportunities that it’s become one of the West’s favorite places to play.
Things that make you want to move:
All of these wonderful attributes have created growing pains for our area. Whether it’s burgeoning traffic or shrinking housing options, these changes can impact quality of life. Even paradise isn’t perfect.



Favorite foods:
Do wine and coffee count as foods? What if I freeze them? Seriously, though, other than my favorite diuretic beverages, I’m a big fan of pizza, chips, and the kind of candy kids tend to favor. (Think FunDip, Laffy Taffy, etc.). Other than my beverage choices, I have the palate of a seven year-old.
Things that make you want to throw up: 
I refuse beets, lima beans, and Brussels sprouts. Yes, yes, you probably have a special way to prepare them that I’ll just love. I’ll have to take your word for it.

Favorite music or song:
I’m a huge Led Zeppelin fan. In fact, before I was an author many of my social media handles were Led Zeppelin homages, making them now very embarrassing.
Music that make your ears bleed:
I’m not wild about country music. No disrespect to the genre. Just not my thing. Or thang, maybe.

Favorite smell:
I love the smell of lavender.
Something that makes you hold your nose:
Looking at roses: delightful. Smelling them? Not so much—at least for me. I find them to be too sweet and cloying.


Something you’re really good at:
Besides writing? (Shameless plug.) I’m a darn good flutist (although a bit rusty) and armchair psychologist. I can also hold my breath for a really long time.
Something you’re really bad at:
Parallel parking. Seriously. I have literally driven away in shame in order to find an alternative to my embarrassing 14-point parking maneuvers. 



Something you wish you could do:
I wish I could play the guitar.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do:
I wish I hadn’t learned to proofread. I automatically correct the grammar on reader boards, menus and pamphlets.

Things you’d walk a mile for:
I’d walk many a mile for a great book.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room:
Conflict sends me running for the door.


Things you always put in your books:
My books always have humor. Sometimes it’s witty repartee. Sometimes it’s the gallows variety. 

Things you never put in your books:

I don’t really have sexy-time stuff in my books.


Things to say to an author:

“I love your books!” Or “How cool that you write!”


Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:

“You wrote a book? What a cute hobby!”


Favorite things to do:

I love to hang out with my family and friends, read and do Jazzercise. (Not even kidding.)


Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing:

I find public speaking very painful, which is inconvenient since I now do a lot of author events. Fortunately, people are awesome and make me feel right at home. Which means I leave the gasoline pants at home.

Most embarrassing moment:

How to choose? I have so many. A memorable one involves sheerer-than-I-realized exercise leggings, white granny panties and being asked to demonstrate downward dog for a yoga class. I’m still mentally scarred. 


Proudest moment:

Having my debut novel, Protocol, nominated for an Agatha and a Lefty was probably my proudest moment.

Best thing you’ve ever done:

Having children is by far the best thing I’ve ever done.
Biggest mistake:

This isn’t the biggest mistake, but a memorable one featured a lunchtime makeover in which the artist “played up” my features by overdrawing them, after which I had to go to a client meeting.


Most daring thing you’ve ever done:
I’ve done some shipwreck scuba dives, which I found pretty daring.


Something you chickened out from doing:

I never finished working toward my pilot’s license.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen Valenti is the author of the Maggie O’Malley mystery series. The series’ first book, Agatha- and Lefty-nominated Protocol, introduces us to Maggie, a pharmaceutical researcher with a new job, a used phone, and a deadly problem. The series’ second book, 39 Winks, releases May 22. When Kathleen isn’t writing page-turning mysteries that combine humor and suspense, she works as a nationally award-winning advertising copywriter. She lives in Oregon with her family where she pretends to enjoy running.

Connect with Kathleen:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook Twitter  |  Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iTunes  |  Kobo




Other books by Kathleen Valenti:

Protocol