Featured Author: Jennifer Fischetto

About the book:

Gianna Mancini has chatted with ghosts most of her life. It’s never affected her much.

Until now.

The latest ghost in Gianna’s family-centric, boy-complicated, job-depleted world is Emma Tinsdale, a woman Gianna despises. Wanting Emma out of her apartment and her orbit, Gianna chooses to help her move on, but she doesn’t expect to come across poisonous jam, a vengeful cop, or a group of friendly clowns.

When a relative is framed for Emma’s death, Gianna must dig deeper and faster to find out what really happened that fatal night on the beach. With help from her sister, her cop brother, and her ex-boyfriend, Julian, she gets close to figuring out the truth. But when the killer closes in, Gianna better watch her step unless she wants to become the latest member of the dearly departed.

Interview with Jennifer Fischetto


Jennifer, tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
One Garish Ghost & Blueberry Peach Jam is the first book in the Dead by the Numbers Mysteries series. There is a short story, a prequel to this book, in the Cozy Christmas Capers anthology, called "A Christmas Ghost & Zero Regrets." That collection of short stories (19 shorts total) by Gemma Halliday Publishing authors is available until January 31, 2015. After then, my short will be available separately.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Long Beach, New York. It’s on Long Island and a beach community. I lived across the street from the boardwalk, beach, and Atlantic Ocean the first fifteen years of my life.

If you had $100 a week to spend on yourself, what would you buy?
Books. Notebooks. Food/snacks. And more books.


What’s one thing that you wish you knew as a teenager that you know now?
I wish I knew how awesome I am/was. I wish I loved myself. I grew up very insecure and had a lot of negative self-thoughts. It took many years to shake that. I still sometimes hear negative thoughts, but now I know they aren’t true. As a teen though, I believed them. This is one of the reasons I also write young adult mysteries.

What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?
None. I’ve made many “mistakes,” and I wish I had made some better choices, but I believe everything happens for a reason and everything is a learning experience. I don’t think I’d be where I am now or have the amazing kids I have if I was able to redo anything.

What makes you nervous?
I get anxious doing something, or especially going someplace, I’ve never been before. I’m working on this. 


What makes you happy?
Hearing my kids laugh. It always makes me smile.

What makes you excited?
Brainstorming a new book is very exciting. There are so many possibilities.

If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be?
Aside from my kids and cat? I’d grab my MacBook. It was expensive.

Would you rather be a lonely genius, or a sociable idiot?
A lonely genius. I have social anxiety so being around people isn’t always easy. It depends on the situation and whether or not I know the people, but I’m fine not being sociable.

What would your main character say about you?
Gianna would say that I spend way too much time indoors and I don’t have nearly as much fun as she does. But she’d also admire my loyalty, my great ear for listening, and my trustworthiness. But if she was in my life, I’d totally be her partner-in-crime.

One of your characters has just found out you’re about to kill him off. He/she decides to beat you to the punch. How would he kill you?
Haha. I love food, so he’d poison me. Something untraceable and quick in a batch of fudgey-gooey brownies. There is very little chocolate I will refuse.

What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?
Servants of the Storm by Delilah S Dawson. It’s in print, hardcover. I love dark books and young adult, so I read a lot of that.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
I prefer to do it first thing in the morning at my desk. But in the winter, I also love doing it in the evening when it’s dark. It makes sitting at my desk cozy, and I feel like I’m alone in the world. Love that. LOL.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
I was told that I write great characterization and plots. This was said by an industry person whom I admire, so it meant a lot to me. By readers, I’ve loved the comments that say the book had a lot of twists and turns (my YA book, I Spy Dead People).

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
The first Jamie Bond book, Unbreakable Bond, was almost torture for me. LOL. I was so nervous that my co-author (and now publisher), Gemma Halliday, would hate my contribution. I feared she’d regret her choice to ask me to co-write with her, and it made the writing process so hard to do. I second-guessed every single word I wrote. Ugh! But luckily she was impressed.

What would your dream office look like?
Oh, I’ve dreamed of this. Haha. It would be in a sunroom of types. It’s all glass enclosed, but tall, ceiling-to-floor, narrow windowpanes, not big sheets of glass. It’s heated and has central air, so it’s not exactly a sunroom but looks like it. I have two desks, cabinets, bookshelves . . . the works. There’s a huge, oversized armchair and plenty of snacks. And it overlooks the ocean and beach, but it’s a private beach and there are never any people on the sand.

No joke, you just described my dream office! What are you working on now?
I am currently co-writing book 4 in the Jamie Bond series. It should release this summer.

Other books by Jennifer Fischetto

I Spy Dead People

Unbreakable Bond

Secret Bond

Lethal Bond

About the author:

Jennifer Fischetto is the National Bestselling Author of the Jamie Bond Mysteries. Unbreakable Bond, her adult debut novel, has received a National Reader's Choice award nomination. She writes dead bodies for ages 13 to six-feet-under. When not writing, she enjoys reading, cooking, singing (off-key), and watching an obscene amount of TV. She also adores trees, thunderstorms, and horror movies—the scarier the better. She lives in Western Mass with her family and is currently working on her next project.

Connect with Jennifer:


Website  | Facebook  | 

 Twitter  |  

Goodreads  

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Featured Author: Traci Andrighetti

About the book:

For Franki Amato, life in New Orleans is anything but “The Big Easy.” When she met handsome bank executive Bradley Hartmann, she knew she’d finally found a man she could trust. But she can’t say the same for his sexy new secretary, who is about as trustworthy as Mata Hari and every bit as seductive. Meanwhile, Franki’s best friend and employer, Veronica Maggio, has named her the lead investigator in the murder of a gorgeous cosmetics CEO who was found lying dead in the master bedroom of a historic plantation home.

Now the pressure is on Franki to figure out what a bottle of pink lip gloss and the legend of a pink diamond have to do with the bizarre killing. The problem is that the plantation is notorious for being haunted, and Franki is less than enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting a ghost. Adding to her stress, her Sicilian grandma is up to her usual meddling antics—this time planning Franki’s engagement to Bradley before he’s even considered popping the question. As Bradley grows distant and plantation employees begin dropping like Southern belles during a sweltering summer, Franki turns to a psychic with a phobia of ghosts to solve the mysterious murders and her own relationship fears.

Interview with Traci Andrighetti

Traci, what’s the story behind the title Prosecco Pink?
All of my books' titles have an Italian liqueur or wine with a color – hence my author tagline “Cocktails, color and crime. With an Italian twist.” So, the first book in the Franki Amato series is Limoncello Yellow, and a short Christmas story I wrote about Franki is called “Rosolio Red” (Rosolio is a liqueur made from rose petals). Of course, my latest release is Prosecco Pink. In all the cases, both the liqueur and the color are tied to the mystery. So, I’d love to tell you more about the title, but that would mean giving away a huge part of the plot!

Tell us about your Franki Amato series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
Prosecco Pink is part of the Franki Amato mystery series. But, if you read my reviews on Amazon, for example, you’ll see that a lot of readers have said that the books can be read out of order.

What do you love about where you live?

There are a lot of things to love about Austin, Texas. For starters, our motto is “Keep Austin Weird,” which really just means that we support our local businesses. Then, of course, there’s The University of Texas (Hook ‘em horns!), amazing barbeque like Franklin’s, the SXSW musical festival (not to mention Austin City Limits), and, most recently, Formula One racing. So, Austin just keeps getting better all the time.

What are your most cherished mementoes?
I have two items that are really special to me. One is a clear, quartz rock that I dug up in an alley when I was twelve (I thought it looked like a giant diamond), and the other is an old-fashioned key I bought from a flea market in Rome on my second day ever in Italy. The quartz ties me to my childhood, and the key reminds me of my personal connection to Italy.

If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be?
Well, besides my laptop, I would grab a huge, original poster of the movie Some Like it Hot from my wall. It’s the Italian version, so the title is actually A qualcuno piace caldo. I love it because Marilyn Monroe looks fabulous in a tight black dress, and because Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are dressed it drag.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
I recently read a quote by the director Richard Linklater (an Texas original). He was asked about the fact that he had invested a lot of his own money in his last two films, and he explained his decision by saying, “You kind of have to bet on yourself in this world.” It’s a simple statement, but one that I profoundly agree with.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
That’s easy. The Eternal City — Rome, Italy. A lot of people think it’s dirty and noisy, but I think it’s lived in and alive. After all, “Roma” is “amor (love)” backwards. ;)

How did you create the plot for this book?
I was inspired by a visit to Oak Alley plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana. I took some friends who were visiting from Rome there, because I wanted them to see something that doesn’t exist in Italy. I’d been there before, but there was something about seeing the place through their eyes that convinced me it would be an intriguing location for a murder. To create the plot, I used a lot of elements from the mansion, itself, as well as elements from my own imagination.

Are any of your characters inspired by real people?
Yes! Franki, Veronica, David, and Franki’s nonna, Carmela, were all inspired by real people. So, if you think Carmela is too crazy to be real, think again. ;) The only one of my recurring characters who isn’t based on a real person is Franki and Veronica’s aging stripper landlady, Glenda. She was based on a group of strippers I met when I accidentally ended up in their dressing room in New Orleans (long story).

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
Well, I would prefer to do my writing all day long in my house. But, I have a day job, so I have to do it in the middle of the night and on weekends. And sometimes I like to write at a coffee shop down the street from my house. Getting all jacked up on caffeine has its advantages.

What would your dream office look like?
Actually, I just created my dream office in my home, and it looks a lot like a guest bedroom. I like to lie down when I write, so I got rid of my desk and put a day bed in the room. The room is orange, has a giant black bookshelf in it, and it’s filled with knickknacks and treasures from Rome, including a poster of the movie Gidget Goes to Rome with the coliseum prominently featured. I now call my office my “Roman writing room.”

How did you find your publisher, and how long did your query process take?
My story is completely crazy (no surprise there). I had maybe written a third of Limoncello Yellow when a fellow author encouraged me to submit the first 2,000 words of the novel to a contest to win a Kindle and month of mentoring. The next thing you know, I had a two-book deal in hand. I still can’t believe it.

What are you working on now?
Honestly, I’m working on a book in a new series that I’m not yet at liberty to talk about. But watch for it in the summer. It’s going to be big, but not for the reasons you might think. ;)

Other books by Traci:

About the author:

Traci Andrighetti is the national bestselling author of the Franki Amato mysteries. In her previous life, she was an award-winning literary translator and a Lecturer of Italian at the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a PhD in Applied Linguistics. But then she got wise and ditched that academic stuff for a life of crime--writing, that is.



If she's not hard at work on her next novel, Traci is probably watching her favorite Italian soap opera, eating Tex Mex or sampling fruity cocktails, and maybe all at the same time. She lives in Austin with her husband, young son (who desperately wants to be in one of her books) and three treat-addicted dogs.



Connect with Traci:

Website  | Blog  | 
Facebook  |  
Twitter  |  Goodreads

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

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Featured Author: Alice Loweecey

About the book:   

Giulia Falcone-Driscoll has just taken on her first impossible client: The Silk Tie Killer. He’s hired Driscoll Investigations to prove his innocence and they have only thirteen days to accomplish it. Talk about being tried in the media. Everyone in town is sure Roger Fitch strangled his girlfriend with one of his silk neckties. And then there’s the local TMZ wannabes—The Scoop—stalking Giulia and her client for sleazy sound bites.
On top of all that, her assistant’s first baby is due any second, her scary smart admin still doesn’t relate well to humans, and her police detective husband insists her client is guilty. About this marriage thing—it’s unknown territory, but it sure beats ten years of living with 150 nuns.

Giulia’s ownership of Driscoll Investigations hasn’t changed her passion for justice from her convent years. But the more dirt she digs up, the more she’s worried her efforts will help a murderer escape. As the client accuses DI of dragging its heels on purpose, Giulia thinks The Silk Tie Killer might be choosing one of his ties for her own neck.

Interview with Alice Loweecey

Alice, tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
This book is the first in a rebooted series, but readers can pick up any one of them to start. Relationships progress, of course, but each book stands on its own.

What’s your favorite memory?
My husband and I flew from the east coast of the US to Hawaii in the early fall for our honeymoon. We came off the last plane tired, chilled, and exhausted. After we checked into our hotel, he took me down to the beach, barefoot, and we waded into the water . . . and the water was warm. A band was playing Hawaiian music in a beachfront bar, and the sky was full of stars. It was perfect.

What’s the dumbest purchase you’ve ever made?
[incoming rant] A used Ford Escort from a dealer who turned out to be a lying, cheating you-know-what. That piece of garbage car was a money pit for nearly two years after it passed the six-month ownership threshold. It needed jumps constantly. It loved to stall when I put it in reverse. The repair bills were ruinous. The only good thing it ever did was to cure me from buying a Ford or a used car ever again.

What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
Publishing is a long game. Ancillary to that lesson is: Go big or go home.

When my first publisher didn’t renew my contract, my agent and I set out to sell the series to a new publisher. It is incredibly difficult to accomplish this. And we did. Publishing is a business and we had to be perseverant, flexible, and remember that the series has an audience. Champagne is made for those moments.

What is the most daring thing you've done?
Enter the convent.

What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?
Enter the convent. But after thirty-plus years, I’m finally making it work in my favor.

What makes you bored?
Lectures. I got enough lectures and sermons growing up Catholic and in the convent to last me ten lifetimes.

What makes you happy?
My family. I know, I know: cliché. But I could’ve been an angry, bitter old nun at this point, and instead I have a home and family of my own. Life is good.

What makes you scared?
Spiders. The only good spider is a dead spider.

I'll second that. How did you meet your husband? Was it love at first site?
We were both in a summer repertory company. He saw me in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, and afterward came up to compliment me. I was having some kind of intense conversation at the time and I blew him off. Oops! He was in the next play in rotation, Steambath, and when I complimented him after a show he jokingly blew me off in return. He then invited me to the closing night’s cast party — our first date. We went on a picnic a week or so later — our second date — and he proposed. That was 27 years ago.

What are your most cherished mementoes?
Cliché alert number two: Drawings my kids made for me when they were very little guys. Also the playbills from our years in theater.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
The island of Kauai. Hands down. *sigh*

Are you like any of your characters?
I’m a little like Giulia in that we grow our own veggies and cook from scratch.

One of your characters has just found out you’re about to kill him off. He/she decides to beat you to the punch. How would he kill you?
My mc's aren’t the killing type, but my favorite villain sure is. Don Falke, AKA Urnu the Snake from Force of Habit would have no problem offing me. He could order one of his sycophants to kill me in a few different ways, but Urnu is really the hands-on type. He’s sick and evil and I wouldn’t want to be caught alone with him for a single minute.

I should bring him back . . .

With what five real people would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?
This one required some thought.
Graham Norton
Gerard Butler (actually, I’d like to be stuck just about anywhere with Gerard Butler)
Penny Marshall
Steven Spielberg
Jane Yolen

Who are your favorite authors?
Dead: Dickens—the man was a characterization genius; Patricia Wentworth, creator of light and fun mysteries with a touch of romance; Aeschylus, and of course H.P. Lovecraft.

Living: Tracy Groot, Jane Yolen, Brian Keene, C.S. Harris, Kazuya Minekura.

What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?
I’m currently reading the translated original documents from the Dyatlov Pass Incident. It’s a paperback. I work at a computer screen all day and type my books at night, so I like to switch to paper for my recreational reading.

Do you have a routine for writing?
Butt In Chair every night for at least two hours. Exceptions made only for Christmas and the flu.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
I’ve received this compliment from more than one fan, and it always gives me warm fuzzies: They read my books in one or two days and are angry that the wait is so long for the next one.

You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be?
Genjyo Sanzo from Kazuya Minekura’s Saiyuki series. Since I read lots of horror, most of the characters I like don’t have lives I’d want to drop into. Not that Sanzo’s life is a Hallmark movie by any means! But he’s fascinating and cool and badass.

What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing? How did you deal with it?
This one is epic. Many years ago I belonged to an online writing group, some of whose members were hard-core Evangelical. We all seemed to get along fine as we posted three chapters of our WIPs for the group to critique.

Until I posted the first three chapters of an early draft of a religious horror novel. I got back from one of the members a full-page, single-spaced diatribe complete with bullet points and red highlights. My work was bad. It was evil. It would “harm baby Christians.” He went into scathing detail on plot points, dialogue, and characterization that in his mind illustrated these points. He concluded with the hope that I never got published and signed it “With love, your brother in Christ.”

I blew him into the group moderator. The moderator explained that this guy had issues with strong women and blocked him from seeing my work again.

Since then, I completely rewrote that book three times. This May, it will be published by Dark Recesses Press.

That’s me you see grinning.

What are you working on now?
The third Giulia mystery, which involves Preppers, adults dropping off the grid, gaming, alpacas, and the quest for an all-natural Twinkie.

Other books by Alice:   

About the author:

Baker of brownies and tormenter of characters, Alice Loweecey recently celebrated her thirtieth year outside the convent. She grew up watching Hammer horror films and Scooby-Doo mysteries, which explains a whole lot. When she’s not creating trouble for Giulia Falcone-Driscoll, she can be found growing her own vegetables (in summer) and cooking with them (the rest of the year).

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Spotlight on: Overkill

About the Book

Summer in Portside: The beach! The gelato! The murder...

Belinda's peace from scandal and her grandmother is short-lived when a painting - and then a body - wash up on her favorite beach. As she and Bennett team with Det. Jonas Parker to figure out how the two connect, a possible art forgery comes to light - and another victim.

Belinda continues to grow into her new role as a part-time amateur detective, swimming through suspects and broken connections, while Bennett starts to rebuild his life, and Jonas breaks free from work to pursue a potential new romance.

With the heat of summer upon them, the future is more unpredictable than ever.

About the author

Amy Saunders is a mystery lover with a soft spot for humor and romance–and the ocean. She lives in Massachusetts, and loves to bake and watch movies. She’s the author of one mystery series and three standalone mysteries. Learn more about Amy and her books at her website.

Connect with Amy:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest

Buy the book:

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Featured Author: Heather Thurmeier

About the book:

Kali can’t cook to save her life, but she can write. As a foodie reviewer for both a huge national paper and a successful blog, she’s well on her way to achieving her dreams. When she’s offered a cookbook deal, she thinks she’s finally made it . . . until her latest review comes out a little harsher than expected and the restaurateur threatens to expose all her secrets.

Mac’s whole life is spent in the kitchen, running a New York City restaurant and a culinary school for underprivileged youth. When donations stop pouring in for Mac’s culinary school after a scathing review of his restaurant, he fears he may have to shut the doors if he can’t find a way to turn things around. Then he meets Kali, the reviewer who admits she has no culinary skills. Now he’s made her an offer she can’t refuse—he’ll teach her to cook over the summer and help her with recipes for the cookbook if she’ll agree to write an insider piece highlighting the strengths of his culinary school.
But when things start heating up in Mac’s kitchen, keeping her hands on the food and off of Mac is proving harder than Kali expected.

Interview with Heather Thurmeier

How long have you been writing, and how did you start? 
I’ve been writing for 5 years. I had wanted to write a book for a long time but never had an idea. Then one day inspiration struck and I figured I’d give it a try. Once I started, I never stopped!

Do you have another job outside of writing?
My only other job outside of writing is being a stay at home mum! But it’s a full time job.

Yes it is. And a very rewarding job. How do you get to know your characters?
I usually get some idea of who the characters are when I get my initial idea. After that, I ask myself as many questions about the characters as I can. Once I think I’ve answered everything and have a good idea of who the characters are, then I’m ready to start writing!

Which character did you most enjoy writing?
I loved writing Daisy! She’s a strong, independent businesswoman who knows what she wants—and what she doesn’t want! I loved her sassy and feisty personality and how she wasn’t afraid to stand up to Cole when she felt she needed to.

What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?
I’m currently reading two books: Dragonfly in Amber, the second in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon in ebook format. I’m also reading The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel in paperback.

What’s one pet peeve you have when you read?
I hate scenes that are too short for me to get into the character. I like to have a chance to really know something about the character in each scene.


Do you have a routine for writing?
I usually write when the kids are at school. Either I write in my office or on the couch looking at the woods behind my house. Other than that, there’s not much routine. Sit down with my coffee, sometimes a snack, my laptop and just write as much as I can. But I do have to have a quiet spot. I can’t hear my characters if it’s too noisy and chaotic around me or if there is music playing. If it’s noisy, like at my kids’ dance class or in a coffee shop, then I use a sound machine app and listen to sounds of wind, rain, and nature to help me focus.

What do you love about where you live? 
Now I live in New York State, north of New York City. I love living here because it’s beautiful and lush, there’s access to the city and everything in it and the people are pretty nice.



Have you been in any natural disasters?
I’ve been in a super snow storm as well as hurricane Sandy, but both times we were on the outskirts of the major damage so our experiences was no so bad. Both times, we did lose power for more than a week, which is why I now own a generator, survival supplies and long-term food supply. Got to be prepared!


What makes you happy?
My family and friends!

What makes you scared? 
Spiders!

I'm with you there! What makes you excited? 
Release day for my newest book!

Would you rather work in a library or a bookstore?
Either would be awesome, but I’m going to say bookstore because there’s often a coffee shop attached, and I can’t think of any better work then books while sipping on a mocha.

What would your dream office look like?
My current office is pretty nice, but my dream office would be somewhere with a great view: beach, vineyard, mountains, lake . . . all would be great!

Are you happy with your decision to publish with Fated Desires Publishing?
I’m definitely of the philosophy that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. I do both self-publishing and small press publishing. One day I’d love to also publish with a big 5 tradition publisher. I like having my books published in a variety of ways. I feel like this gives me the most control over my career, and I don’t regret my choice to spread my wings and explore all the options available to me and my books.

What steps to publication did you personally do with the book you self-publishied, and what did you hire someone to do? Is there anyone you’d recommend for a particular service?
I do the writing, I hire an editor to help me with the editing: Hot Damn Designs did both my cover and my formatting, and I did all the uploading to Amazon and Createspace. The idea of self-publishing is scarier than actually accomplishing it. One step at a time and before you know it, it’s done!

What’s one of your favorite quotes? 
“Bloom where you are planted.” I have no idea who said it, but I think about that quote so often, it’s become a part of me. I love the idea of being the best you can be no matter where you are in life. Make the most of what you have. Enjoy life. To me, each of those ideas are represented in the “Bloom.”

What’s your favorite candy bar?
My favorite is Canadian Smarties (like M&Ms) and Caramilk. Yum!

What three books have you read recently and would recommend?
For YA Dystopian fans, I would totally recommend the Razorland series by Ann Aguirre. It starts with Enclave. For adventure fans, I would recommend Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. And for romance/urban fantasy, I would recommend Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series which starts with Darkfever.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
When I’m not writing, I love watching cooking shows, playing video games, hiking and geocaching, and reading!

What would you like people to say about you after you die?
I hope people would say that I’m a great mother, wife, and friend, and a pretty decent author. I hope they say I lived a good, long, happy life enjoying the company of my closest friends and family.

What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on another contemporary as well as attempting to finish my paranormal series, Falling Stars.

Other books by Heather Thurmeier

The Wedding Hoax
Falling for You
Stuck on You
Lost Without You
Catching Stardust

About the author:

Heather Thurmeier is a lover of strawberry margaritas and a hater of spiders. She was born and raised in the Canadian prairies but now lives in New York state with her husband and kids where she’s become some kind of odd Canuck-Yankee hybrid. When she's not busy taking care of the kids, Heather’s writing her next romance, which will probably be filled with sassy heroines, sexy heroes who make your heart pound, laugh out loud moments, and always a happily ever after. You can find out more about Heather and her books by checking out her website.

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Facebook  | 
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Cover reveal: Protective Hearts

Featured Author: Jack Getze

About the book:

Wall Street’s miasmal garbage washes up on the Jersey Shore when a small time broker falls in love: Is he attracted to the beautiful lady — or her brother’s inside information? Held spellbound by a steamy, auburn-haired woman with a questionable past and a get-rich-quick, insider trading scheme, Austin Carr knocks down a beehive of bad-acting Bonacellis, including the ill-tempered Mr. Vic Bonacelli, who wants his redhead back, and local mob lieutenant Mama Bones Bonacelli, architect of a strange and excruciating death trap for the fast-talking stockbroker she calls smarty pants. To survive, Austin must unravel threads of jealousy, revenge and new affections, discovering the fate of a pseudo ruby called the Big Mojo, and close the lid on a pending United States of America vs. Austin Carr insider trading case. Can Austin and his Jersey Shore mouthpiece possibly out maneuver the savvy U.S. District Attorney from Manhattan? Does anything matter for Austin again if Mama Bones flips that switch?

“Gordon Gekko meets Janet Evanovich in this wry and winning caper–Jack Getze does it again!” ~Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark Award winning author of Truth Be Told

Interview with Jack Getze

Jack, where’s home for you?
Whereever my wife and family are, honestly. I've never quite fit here in Jersey, but after visiting Los Angeles and the suburbs where I grew up -- Alhambra, San Gabriel, Pasadena -- I have no desire to move back. My friends and family have pretty much moved away or died, and the Greater L.A. area is so crowded, the traffic is a dragon.

Where did you grow up?
I went to school on the east side of Los Angeles -- Alhambra -- where I learned to love all things Mexican. This had something to do with my last name being Getze. With lockers assigned alphabetically, I learned to get along closely with a dozen guys named Gomez, Gonzales and Garcia, even befriending a few. I have enormous respect for the culture, and what I miss most about Valley, Garfield, and Atlantic boulevards are the fresh-cooked tortillas wrapped around slow-cooked meat -- tacos and burritos. The wisest, toughest and best man in the Austin Carr series is bartender sidekick Luis Guerrero.

What’s your favorite memory?
I coached Little League baseball for a number of years. My teams were about having fun, learning the game, never winning or trying to be the best. One year we went most of the season without winning a game. My boys were having fun, but they weren't very good or even dedicated. A rag tag bunch of wild boys is what I had for a team that season. One day we played the undefeated champions of our league, and I heard one of their coaches tell his players before the game they could beat us "with our hands tied behind our backs." Well, I was incensed. I called a rare team meeting minutes before the game, told my kids what I'd heard. I said I don't care if we win or not, but let's try hard, let's show these guys a game they can't win with one hand. Make them play their best to beat us. Well, I fired my boys up. They were angry, too, I guess, because we played out best game ever -- hitting, fielding and heads-up base running. My boys played the game of their young lives, and -- what a shocker -- we beat that undefeated team, their only loss all year. My one and only "Win one for the Gipper" speech. Motivation is important in life.

Great story! What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
Every day alive is a gift not to be wasted.

What makes you nervous?
Crowds and loud noise. Went to a rock concert once in 1969 and haven't been to another since. I've walked into bar-restaurants where I had to turn around and walk outside. My wife wasn't happy, but no way I was sitting down in that place, trying to relax and have a conversation.


Oh, I'm with you there. What makes you scared?
How and from whom Americans get their information. I believe honest, and thus impartial, journalism died decades ago, replaced by advocacy. News sources no longer publish both sides of an issue, just arguments they believe and facts coinciding with their opinion. Americans were always under-educated about economics -- it's boring, something for rich people. Nothing could be further from he truth. I worry my great grandchildren could lose their freedom.

Do you have another job outside of writing?
I'm housewife for a bread-winning grandma. I'd tell you more, but I have to go do the dishes again. They are never done!

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
From Elmore Leonard: "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”

Love it and Elmore Leonard! Is your book based on real events?
A lot of it. Back in the 1990s, I had to defend myself against insider trading charges in much the same way Austin does in Big Mojo.

Yikes! Are you like any of your characters?
Yes again. Austin Carr is the devil on my shoulder, the voice telling me to do and try things I know I shouldn't. Over the course of the series, Austin does grow up a little bit, and hopefully, he'll one day actually reach adulthood. I think this whole arc parallels my own experience. Ha.

Who are your favorite authors?
Elmore Leonard, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Crais, Lee Child, Thomas Perry, John D. MacDonald, Somerset Maugham.

An excellent list. What’s one pet peeve you have when you read?
I dislike author intrusion. I guess most readers don't mind because I see this stuff in bestsellers of all kinds, but I'm thrown right out of the story when I read something like, "Little did she know her actions would soon ..." I always stop reading and think, so who the heck said that? Which one of the characters I was listening to said "Little did she know?" Oh, it wasn't a character? It was the author? Well, get the heck out of the story, will you please. Honestly, even when I read a dialogue tag like, she said sarcastically, it bothers me. It's writer laziness, telling instead of showing. The words spoken should have conveyed sarcasm.

Here, here! 
What's your writing routine?
I begin writing first thing when I get up. Start the coffee, open up the page I worked on last. It's a routine I started more than forty years ago. I had to write fiction BEFORE I went to work writing for the newspaper, because at the end of the day, I had nothing left. I wrote pretty much all day for the Los Angeles Times, many bylined pieces, but more just rewrite -- combining wire services, press releases and maybe an interview into three paragraphs or three pages. I was fast with (in those days) a typewriter, too, so whenever a story broke near deadline, I was the first guy the editor looked for to write it. Five hundred words in fifteen minutes was a way of life for John H. Getze. Glad I'm Jack now. I write what I want.

You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be?
Dr. John Watson so I could follow and write about Sherlock Holmes. First it was the Hardy Boys at ten and eleven, then Arthur Conan Doyle as a teenager. I was hooked on mysteries forever.

Other books by Jack Getze:

Down, Out, and Dead (Big Mouth: An Austin Carr short story in an anthology of shorts)
Big Money
Big Numbers

About the author:

A former reporter for both the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Jack Getze is Fiction Editor for Anthony nominated Spinetingler Magazine, one of the Internet's oldest websites for noir, crime, and horror short stories. His Austin Carr Mysteries Big Numbers and Big Money were re-issued by Down and Out Books in 2013, with Big Mojo out in 2014, and Big Shoes in 2015. His short stories have appeared in A Twist of Noir, Beat to a Pulp, The Big Adios and Passages.

Connect with Jack:
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