Featured Author: Susan M. Boyer

About the book

Where is Kent Heyward? The twenty-three-year-old heiress from one of Charleston’s oldest families vanished a month ago. When her father hires private investigator Liz Talbot, Liz suspects the most difficult part of her job will be convincing the patriarch his daughter tired of his overbearing nature and left town. That’s what the Charleston Police Department believes.

But behind the garden walls South of Broad, family secrets pop up like weeds in the azaleas. The neighbors recollect violent arguments between Kent and her parents. Eccentric twin uncles and a gaggle of cousins covet the family fortune. And the lingering spirit of a Civil-War-era debutante may know something if Colleen, Liz’s dead best friend, can get her to talk.

Liz juggles her case, the partner she’s in love with, and the family she adores. But the closer she gets to what has become of Kent, the closer Liz dances to her own grave.

Interview with Susan Boyer

Susan, do you have another job outside of writing?
No, I have the luxury of focusing on my writing and the business aspects of being an author. I have so much admiration for those who do have other jobs. I don’t know how they do it all.

I agree. Which character did you most enjoy writing?
Liz for sure, but Colleen, her best friend who’s been dead since their junior year in high school, would be a close second.

What would your main character say about you?
I should exercise more.

Are any of your characters inspired by real people?
My characters aren’t based on real people, but I do use snippets of conversation, mannerisms, and things that people do. I mix characteristics from several people, often strangers, into one character.

Is your book based on real events?
No, it’s entirely fiction. A few real events are mentioned—like the well-documented ghost sightings at Poogan’s Porch, for example. But none of them are central to the story.

Are you like any of your characters?
Liz Talbot has a lot of me in her. She sees the world through my eyes. We’re both Southern, we both love Southern food, Kenny Chesney music, and karaoke. But she is younger, thinner, braver, and thinks of what she wants to say much faster than me.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
Either in my office at home or in a hotel room. I write in the mornings and as long into the afternoon or evening as I’m able.

Where’s home for you?
Greenville, South Carolina.

You’re given the day off, and you can do anything but write. What would you do?
Read in a chair on the beach, then have lunch at a beachfront restaurant. I’d probably order a cheeseburger. Then more reading in the beach chair in the afternoon.

What’s your favorite candy bar?
Do truffles count? Absolutely! I love Lindor truffles. My three favorites are milk chocolate, hazelnut, and peanut butter. It’s odd, because Liz loves Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, but I need the truffles to write her.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Spend time with family, travel—I especially love St. John, USVI—read, watch a few favorite TV shows. I’m really going to miss Justified. This is the last season.

I love that show! If I could live anywhere, I'd probably pick South Carolina. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? I’m happy where we are, in Greenville, South Carolina. There are many beautiful places I’d love to visit, but I couldn’t stay because we’d be too far away from our family.

What are you working on now?
Lowcountry Bordello, the fourth Liz Talbot mystery, which comes out in November.

 About the author

Susan M. Boyer is the author of the USA TODAY bestselling Liz Talbot mystery series. Her debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, won the 2012 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, and garnered several other award nominations. Lowcountry Boneyard, the third Liz Talbot mystery, was released April 21, 2015. Susan loves beaches, Southern food, and small towns where everyone knows everyone, and everyone has crazy relatives. You’ll find all of the above in her novels.

Susan lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her husband and an inordinate number of houseplants.

Connect with Susan:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  |  Goodreads



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Featured Author: Melanie Denman

About the book

Set in the Bible Belt of Deep East Texas, Visiting the Sins is a darkly funny story about mothers and daughters, naked ambition, elusive redemption, and all the torment it's possible to inflict in the name of family.



Down through the decades, the lofty social aspirations of the feisty but perennially dissatisfied Wheeler women -- Pokey, the love-starved, pistol-packing matriarch; Rebanelle, the frosty former beauty queen turned church organist; and Curtis Jean, the backsliding gospel singer -- are exceeded only by their unfortunate taste in men and a seemingly boundless capacity for holding grudges. A legacy of feuding and scandal lurches from one generation to the next with tragic consequences that threaten to destroy everything the Wheeler women have sacrificed their souls to build.

Interview with Melanie Denman

Melanie, what’s the story behind the title Visiting the Sins?
The title is a little bit ironic in that we usually quote the Bible when we talk about “visiting the sins” of the fathers upon the children. My book is actually about the sins of the mothers, and the title is taken from a line in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up on a cattle ranch near Nacogdoches, Texas. I’m an eighth-generation Texan, so those roots run pretty deep.

If you had an extra $100 a week to spend on yourself, what would you buy?
I would buy good seats at the theatre. I used to act in live theatre, and I’m still captivated by watching it.

What’s the dumbest purchase you’ve ever made?
I bought a beautiful pair of black patent pumps with four-inch heels. My hat is off to Sarah Jessica Parker for making it look easy to walk in those things, but I never wore them outside the house.

I'm with you! What makes you bored?
Listening to people talk about their money or what they’re going to buy next.

What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?
There are things I regret doing because they hurt other people, but I don’t think I would choose to change anything. I think things turned out the way they were supposed to turn out.

What makes you excited?
I get really excited when I’m getting packed for a vacation to somewhere I haven’t been before. The anticipation is almost as much fun as the trip itself.

How did you meet your husband?
I met him at a swimming party on the first day of our freshman year at college. I thought he was terribly cute, but I don’t know if it was love at first sight because I didn’t marry him until twenty-five years later!

Oh my! What’s one of your favorite quotes?
I don’t know who said this, but I like it: “It doesn’t matter whether you’re the cheetah or the gazelle. When the sun comes up you’d better be ready to run.”

Love it! If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
I would live in an Airstream trailer park on the beach with my family. I’ve reached a place in my life where time with the people I love is the most important thing.

What’s your favorite line from a book?
I love Gus’s line in Lonesome Dove when the pretty young prostitute accuses him of cheating at cards to get a free roll in the hay with her: “A man who wouldn’t cheat for a poke don’t want one bad enough.”

Are any of your characters inspired by real people?
The character named Pokey, the love-starved matriarch, is loosely based upon my late grandmother. She was a feisty, fearless woman who had enough adventures and misadventures to fill several novels. I was lucky to have her in my life.

Are you like any of your characters?
I think I’m like all of my characters in different ways. For example, Pokey is always seeking the spotlight, which is the opposite of my own personality. But I do identify with her unbridled ambition. Actually, I believe you have to find some common ground with even the most despicable character in order to write authentically about him or her.

True. What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?
I know this is old-fashioned, but I still prefer to hold an actual book in my hands, usually a paperback. I love to gaze at the cover and flip back and forth through the pages. I just finished reading Ruby by a fellow East Texas native, Cynthia Bond. Now I’m deep into The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

Are you happy with your decision to self-publish? Tell us a little bit about your road to publication.
I self-published because the authors I knew who were traditionally published were getting very little support from their publishers. They were doing practically all the promotional work and giving up much of the revenue. I strongly believed that I had written the story I was meant to write, so I just decided I was willing to bet my own money on it. I was willing to work hard to promote it. If it bombed then nobody would be out any money except for me. Fortunately for me, it didn’t bomb, and I have given away almost all of the profits to causes that matter to me.

What are you working on now?
I’m in the process of adapting Visiting the Sins into a screenplay, and also working on a new novel. Like Visiting the Sins, this one is also set in East Texas, but it is about the relationship between people and their land, and it features strong male and female personalities.

About the author

Melanie Denman is a native of Nacogdoches, Texas and a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University. An eighth-generation Texan, and a former banker and cattle rancher, she currently lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is working on a second novel.

Connect with Melanie:
Website  |  Facebook 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Featured Author: Glenn Conley

Glenn doesn't hate all books. But he's very honest in his reviews of books. In fact, as the subtitle says, he's brutally honest. And he's compiled these brutally honest reviews into a book. Warning: there is a lot of unnecessary profanity in this post. Why? Because Glenn's speech is sprinkled liberally with a lot of unnecessary profanity. You have been warned.

About the book

WARNING: There's a lot of unnecessary profanity in this book.
 Why? Because ... Because REASONS!



This book contains over 100 brutally honest book reviews. These laugh-out-loud reviews are offensive in every way possible. There's so much unnecessary profanity, it's crazy. But it's not the profanity or offensiveness that makes this book worth reading. It's the honesty.



You will find 1 star reviews in this book that absolutely tear the book to shreds, because the book was really that bad. But you will also find 5 star reviews in this book, because the book was actually that good. 

It contains reviews of popular books such as Gone Girl, The Giver, The Maze Runner, and many other popular books. Of course, it also includes plenty of books you've probably never heard of.



There's reviews that urge you to read a book, because it's so good. And also, reviews that warn you to stay the hell away from certain books, because they're bad. So bad.



In the end, you'll laugh while reading this book. And cry. And possibly vomit. You've been warned.

Interview with Glenn Conley

Glenn, you have an interesting title for this book. What’s the story behind it?
Well, I listen to a podcast called "Doug Loves Movies." And I thought, wouldn't it be funny if there was a "Doug Hates Movies?" I mean, wouldn't that be a more interesting show? Just bashing the s*^t out of bad movies. So, I started a blog called "Glenn Hates Movies," and I posted some nasty reviews of movies there. But after a while, I found that I love movies too much. There aren't enough movies that I really hate. But damn, there's plenty of books to hate on. So I created the "Glenn Hates Books" blog, and the rest is history.

Where did you grow up?
Keizer, Oregon. It's a small town north of Salem, in Oregon. I hated living there.

I'm sensing a pattern. What’s your favorite memory?
Jesus Christ, my favorite memory of all time? F^*k me. That's 45 years of memories for f*^k's sake. Did I say 'f*^k' already? Good. Just making sure. My favorite memory is probably the look on my mom's face when, after our wedding, my wife gave her a card that said, “Remember, you're not gaining a daughter. You're losing a son.” That was priceless.


If you had $100 a week to spend on yourself, what would you buy?
Well, that's a stupid question. Everyone has $100 a week to spend on themselves, don't they? I'd buy the same s*^t I already do. Well, if I had an extra 100 a week, I'd probably save it, and buy something nice. Like a convertible.

Which is what I meant. An extra $100. Glad you caught on. And good luck on that convertible. 
What’s the dumbest purchase you’ve ever made?
Buying a Geo Metro, and paying way too much for it. At the time, I was actually a new car salesman at a Toyota dealership. But my dealer was taking its sweet time finding me a car, so I went across town and bought that stupid Geo, and in the process got myself ripped off. And my wife cried that I traded in our 73 Chevy Caprice. I was sad after a while too, because we both f*^king loved that car. It just wasn't very practical any more.


What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
Write every day. It doesn't matter what you write about. Just write every goddamn day. At least 500 words. If you keep that up, you can write a novel in no time at all.

Who would you pick to write your biography?
Michael Lewis. I've read a couple of his books, and he's a very good storyteller when it comes to people's lives.

What dumb things did you do during your college years? (I can't wait to hear this.)
Let's see, I had two years of college at George Fox University, a private Quaker college. If you're not familiar with the Quaker movement, it's like Christianity on crack. They're very strict. No kissing or hugging permitted on campus. If you were caught, you were sent to the Dean, and may get expelled. It was hilarious, because everyone was f*^king. I mean, that's the prime f*^k years of your life. If you don't f*^k like mad in college, you're going to miss out on the best f*^k years of your life.

But that's not the hilarious bit. It was funny because everyone had to find secret places to f*^k. At night people would break into the various campus buildings, and f*^k in secret. Cracked me up one time. I Was working security, and we found a couple f*^king in the prayer room. Now that's just plain naughty.

My wife and I were no exception. We would sneak into different buildings every night so we could f*^k like rabbits. During the day we would have to make sure to leave a window cracked in the building, so we could sneak in. It was quite fun, and incredibly stupid.

What do you love about where you live?
I live in Sandy, Oregon. It's a small town near Mt. Hood. I love it here. Not too cold, and not too hot. And the rain turns me on, so there's that. hehehe



What is the most daring thing you've done? (Again, this ought to be good.)
Had sex with my wife on a crowded beach, surrounded by our friends. We were under a blanket, but it was still pretty bloody obvious. Someone on the beach finally screamed “Oh my God! They're doing it!” And our friends turned to see me humping furiously to finish. Good times.


What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?
Well, back in the late 90's, I had a very successful business. My business partner suggested that we start playing the stock market. Three months later, I was arrested for securities fraud. If I had just stuck with my original business plan, and not listened to that f*^king asshole, I would have never been arrested and sent to jail. For that small mistake, I was sentenced to 36 months in a federal prison.

Yeah, that's pretty stupid. What’s one thing that you wish you knew as a teenager that you know now?
Write every day. I think I've already mentioned that mantra, but it's worth repeating.


What makes you bored?
Reading. LOL. Seriously, so many books bore me to tears. That's why I write such flaming reviews of books. Because they piss me off so much.


What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?
The business decision I mentioned above. And I should have studied writing in college, instead of film. And I wish I would have chosen a career that I actually enjoyed, instead of one that I grew to hate. I mean, I wish I knew back then that I should work at something I enjoy, not for the money, but because I actually enjoy doing it.



What makes you nervous?
Speaking in public.


What makes you happy?
Life.

What makes you scared?
Spiders. F*^king hate spiders.

Ditto. Here's a free tip: spiders hate peppermint. Put some peppermint oil in a spray bottle with water and spray around all your doors. Windows probably would be a good idea too. You're welcome. What makes you excited? (Besides the tip I just gave you.)
Movies. When a new movie that I'm really looking forward to is about to come out, I get giddy like a f*^king schoolgirl.

Do you have another job outside of writing?
No.

Who are you?
Are you getting philosophical on me? I sure hope not. I'm not a complicated guy. Well, most guys aren't complicated. But I'm even less so. I'm very shallow. Like an air head. In college, everyone thought I was a complete idiot. Because I acted like one. Only my wife-to-be noticed that I had actual intelligence. So who am I really? I'm a very smart guy, who's learned to mask his intelligence. Because people don't like smart people. People love an air head.

I think you're hanging with the wrong people. What are your most cherished mementoes? Things? Can't say that I have any. You could burn everything that I own, and I wouldn't care.

If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be?
My computer. Well, assuming my wife could get out by herself, of course.

What brings you sheer delight?
When an author gets upset that I gave his book a bad review. Oh my God. I f*^king love that s*^t. I laugh and laugh like a f*^king schoolgirl. It's f*^king hilarious. I live for that s*^t.

You are truly a unique individual. Would you rather be a lonely genius, or a sociable idiot?
A sociable idiot.

Well, that's pretty obvious. Just kidding. What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“You can have everything you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.” Zig Ziggler.

“There's no such thing as bad publicity.” Unknown

That's two, but I'll let it slide. If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
Hawaii. Maui, to be more specific. F*^king love that island. We made a mistake one year and went to one of the smaller islands. It turned out to be a f*^king hippy commune island. So much so that we couldn't find any restaurants on the island that served beef. Or chicken. It was like a vegetarian island, for f*^k's sake. When we finally found a McDonald's, we were in heaven.

What would you like people to say about you after you die?
“He was an asshole!”

That's probably a pretty safe bet. Again, just kidding. What’s your favorite line from a book?
“There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.” Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy


How did you create the plot for this book?
Considering that it's nonfiction, there isn't a plot per se. Just the ramblings of a complete idiot. I'm talking about me. I'm the idiot. Everyone smile and wave at the idiot.

Is your book based on real events?
Yes. I really do f*^king hate books. Well, I don't hate all books. That'd be silly. I hate books that suck.

One of your characters has just found out you’re about to kill him off. He decides to beat you to the punch. How would he kill you?
Put me through a wood chipper. Or nuke me from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

With what five real people would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?
Let's see, Ryan Gossling, Brad Pitt, Charlese Theron, Emma Watson, and Scarlett Johansen ... Just so I can stand there and drool.

I've never been a fan of bookstores. My wife used to drag me to them all the time, and I always ended up taking a nap in a stuffed chair until she was finished.

Well, that's just silly. Who are your favorite authors?
Douglas Adams, Edward Lee, Michael Lewis to name a few.


What book are you currently reading?
Horror Stories, by Jack Kilborn.

What’s one pet peeve you have when you read?
Finding errors. There are always errors, and it f*^king drives me nuts. I also hate it when I read something that's written in "British English," or the author's idea of British English. They misuse quotes, among other things.


Do you have a routine for writing?
I usually write first thing in the morning. Well, after breakfast. Because that way, it takes a priority.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
At my desk. In my house. Where else? I don't understand those freaks that do their writing at Starbucks. What the f*^k is wrong with their house?

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
“You're f*^king hilarious!” I love it when people actually understand what my book is about.

If you could be a ghostwriter for any famous author, who would you pick?
Stephen King. He needs a f*^king ghost writer, because his latest novels have sucked donkey balls.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
Fiction can be a challenge for me, because I hate writing about normal people. You know, people that don't f*^king swear in every goddamn sentence. Every time I have to create one of those characters, it's a challenge. And it f*^king pisses me off. But, unfortunately, all characters can't be like me.

Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
I hate libraries.

You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be? 
Zaphod Beeblebrox.

What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing? How did you deal with it?
“Why are you so angry?” I told them that I'm not angry at all. I'm the happiest, most well-adjusted guy I know.

Why did you decide to self-publish?
Because, f*^k publishers! I'm sick and tired of submitting my s*^t to publishers. You know, one time I was so tired of rejections that I sent a letter to a publisher, with my manuscript, and a note that said something like, “F*^k you, man! You don't want to publish my book. Don't even f*^king look at it. Throw it in the motherf*^king trash. And after you've done that, go f*^k yourself.” Believe it or not, that submission actually got published. Apparently, telling a publisher to 'go f*^k yourself' is not something they see every day.

Go figure. Are you happy with your decision to self-publish?
Yes. My road to self-publish was a short one. I just woke up one day and decided, F*^k it. I'm just going to collect my reviews into a book and self-publish that s*^t. What's the worst that could happen?

If you self-published, what steps to publication did you personally do, and what did you hire someone to do? Is there anyone you’d recommend for a particular service? (e.g. formatting, cover art, editing…)
I wrote and formatted the book myself. The formatting being the hardest part. It was a royal pain in the ass to get it perfect for the Kindle format. The editing was done expertly by my wife. Didn't have to hire anyone for anything. A professional cover designer did offer her services to me for free, and she created some neat covers, but in the end, I, or actually my wife, decided that my original cover that I made myself was better.

What are you working on now?
The novel I'm currently working on is called Killing Every Day. It's about a guy who has just lost his wife to cancer. His whole life he's been holding in a monster. He's always wanted to kill people, but didn't want to upset his happy family life. Now, he's got nothing to lose, so he's going to kill someone every goddamn day. He's going to cause chaos in a small town, where there hasn't been a murder in over ten years.

About the author

Glenn Conley learned to hate books from a very early age. Because reading a book was homework and he absolutely hated homework. It wasn't until his early teens that he started reading for his own enjoyment. Now he writes horror and science fiction stories. And he's obsessed with writing brutally honest book reviews.

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

Featured Author: Judi Culbertson

About the book:

For the first time in nearly twenty years, Delhi Laine’s family is whole. But that doesn’t mean everything is back to normal. With no proof to condemn her daughter’s kidnappers, Delhi’s family is forced to share Elisa with her “adopted” parents. But when they suddenly perish in a mysterious house fire, Elisa is heartbroken . . . and Delhi’s husband, Colin, is charged with their murder. Delhi knows it’s up to her to prove his innocence, but the deeper she digs, the more it becomes evident that nothing is as it seems. When Elisa goes missing, Delhi fears her nightmare may be repeating itself. If she can’t clear Colin’s name and find Elisa again, there may not be another chance. Twenty years ago she lost her daughter . . . if she fails now, she might lose everything — and everyone — she holds dear.

Guest Post: Playing Authors

            Have you always secretly known that you could write a wonderful novel if you only had the time? Now is the time. Rather, at your next party or family gathering your words can entertain and intrigue everyone around you. My family proves that every Thanksgiving when, after dinner, seven or eight of us gather in my brother’s living room and play the “First Line Game.” 

            The game goes like this: Everyone is equipped with a blank pad and pen. The first person chooses a book from the pile of paperback novels and mysteries that I have amassed cheaply  from thrift stores, and reads descriptive paragraphs on the back out loud.  Usually they need to do it twice. Then everyone else writes an opening sentence for the book.

            The sentences are turned in and read to the group by the first reader who has written out the real first sentence from the book and reads it along with the others. Then each person tries to guess the author’s opening line. When the votes are tallied, players get one point if identify it correctly. So do people whose made-up line is picked as the true one. It often comes down to a choice between trying to be authentic and being funny. The next person in the circle chooses a book and so on.

            Relaxed by turkey, a walk in the woods, and a few glasses of wine, people produce inspiring and often hilarious openings. For a cozy mystery set on the campus of Princeton University, New Jersey, someone at another gathering wrote, “Not all murders happen in Newark.” For a southern gothic romance, my husband contributed, “Up to her pretty neck in alligators, Samantha waded through the bayou, frantic to find the man of her dreams.”

            Spoiler alert: Neither of those lines was the real one.

            Genre books – mystery, romance, and fantasy – work best. Their colorful plots seem to inspire creativity and none of them begin “All happy families are alike.”

            Last year we tried poetry, supplying the last line of a stanza.  It didn’t work quite as well. This year it’s back to Samantha and the bayou.

About the author:

Judi Culbertson draws on her experience as a used-and-rare book dealer, social worker, and world traveler to create her bibliophile mysteries. No stranger to cemeteries, she also co-authored five illustrated guides with her husband, Tom Randall, starting with Permanent Parisians. She lives in Port Jefferson, New York, with her family.

Connect with the author:
Website  |  Goodreads

Featured Author: Dawn Eastman

About the book:

Here is the newest Family Fortune Mystery, starring former cop Clyde Fortune, who — snowbound with her kooky family in a creepy castle — is climbing the walls and combing the halls, looking for a cold-blooded killer . . .

After their flight to Mexico is cancelled, Clyde and her detective boyfriend, Mac, end up snowed in with their families at a supposedly haunted hotel. Clyde’s tarot card reading mother, Rose, is making dire predictions for the weekend, and self-proclaimed pet psychic Aunt Vi is enchanted by the legend of the hotel’s ghost — until the power goes out and a body turns up.

With a hotel full of stranded suspects, Clyde will have to draw on all her skills — both the police ones she’d rather forget and the psychic ones she’d rather ignore — to solve the bone-chilling mystery before someone else gets iced . . .

Interview with Dawn Eastman

Dawn, tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
The Family Fortune Mysteries are set in western Michigan in a small town called Crystal Haven. It’s a tourist town with a twist — the main attractions are the psychics, mediums, and tarot readers. My protagonist has returned to town after several years away and must navigate her family dynamics while struggling with her own psychic gifts. A cast of quirky humans and animals ensure that nothing runs smoothly.

They do not need to be read in order, but that is the way I personally like to read a series. That said, if I have done my job, a reader can get caught up pretty quickly by starting anywhere and then can go back to the earlier ones if they choose. A Fright to the Death particularly lends itself to being read out of order because the gang is stuck in a castle hotel so the setting and the supporting characters are new.

Where’s home for you?
Des Moines, Iowa is where I live. Michigan will always feel like home.

Where did you grow up?
All over the East Coast and then Michigan from age twelve through college.

What’s one thing that you wish you knew as a teenager that you know now?
It will all work out.

What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?
None, because each choice led to where I am today.

What makes you nervous?
Public speaking.

If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be?
Assuming my husband, kids, and dog were safe, I’d grab my laptop.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
London.

What would you like people to say about you after you die?
She was kind.

What’s your favorite line from a book?
From Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?”

Are any of your characters inspired by real people?
Seth is my protagonist’s nephew. He is loosely based on a younger version of my son.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
I’ve been so fortunate to have a very kind and vocal readership, so I have received many lovely compliments. The ones I like the most are when they say they stayed up all night reading, or that it made them laugh.

However, the compliment that most inspired me to keep writing happened in a college creative writing course. One of the other students was an amazing writer. I loved everything he shared with the class. When it came time to share my piece, his comment was, “I wish I’d written this.” It was a long time ago, and I don’t remember his name, but it stayed with me and kept me writing even when no one else was reading.

What are you working on now?
I am writing book 4 for the series. The Fortune Family is back in Crystal Haven. A zombie fun run and a Founder’s Day celebration bring lots of people into town, including Clyde’s elusive sister, Grace, and a few other suspicious characters. That book will be released in April 2016.

About the author

Dawn Eastman lived in Michigan for many years, in a house full of animals, unusual people, and laughter. She now lives in Iowa with her family and one extremely bossy small dog. She is the national bestselling author of The Family Fortune Mystery Series, which features psychics, animal communication, quirky characters and murders.

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

Featured Author: Julie Seedorf

About the book:

Granny may be retired as Fuchsia, Minnesota’s one-woman undercover sleuth for the Fuchsia Police Department, but that doesn’t mean she still doesn’t need a trusty weapon. Her weapon of choice, a pink snow shovel. When Granny runs over a dead body with her snowmobile, she unwittingly sets off a chain of events that involves mislabeled corpses, empty graves, and stolen money—lots of it! Who’s at the bottom of this years-old crime? Granny has an idea, but she has little time to investigate, when in just days she’s scheduled to marry the love of her life, Franklin Gatsby, in a post-Christmas ceremony. So, Granny decides to enlist the help of her friends and neighbors. Add in Christmas Holiday excitement and the arrival of Granny’s family, who are all there for her wedding, and mayhem ensues. Of course, Granny can always count on her many furry friends to provide her with moral support, but it’s quite possible that Granny—that is, Hermiony Vidalia Criony Fiddlestadt—has a secret or two of her own, which may very well be revealed as Granny Snows A Sneak.

Interview with Julie Seedorf

Julie, what’s the story behind the title Granny Snows A Sneak?
Granny Snows A Sneak takes place in winter. Granny always has a new weapon and what better weapon than a snow shovel and snow in the wintertime in Minnesota?

Sounds like a perfect weapon to me. Tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
My series is set in a fictional Minnesota town called Fuchsia, Minnesota. It is better to read them in order. Fuchsia is a community very different and not governed by the rules we have to live by in real life. Its rules are pure fantasy that would never work the way we live life today. Granny is an over the top older woman. She defies the rules of old age but I had a mother somewhat like her. Granny is finally living her life the way she has always wanted to live but society kept her from being who God created her to be. I never mention Granny’s age because I want my readers to put her at whatever age their imagination wants. Along with Granny are quirky neighbors, overly concerned family members, unusual murders and Fuchsia secrets that have never been told. Each book has clues for the mystery coming up in the next book. It may seem as if I forgot to tie some clues in with the current mystery, but that is the plan and the answers are found in the next mystery in the next book. Over the series more details about Hermiony Vidalia Fiddlestadt’s life is revealed along with the other citizens of Fuchsia. People will see eventually whys Granny is who she is, with a little fun and suspense along the way.

Where’s home for you? 
Home for me is rural Minnesota. Life is lived with the revolving seasons and changes in beauty and temperature along with the surrounding countryside of farms and lakes.

What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
I have learned to laugh at myself and not take myself too seriously. It takes so much work to lift yourself out of sadness and depression and laughter is a gift. Also I have learned to take the time to really look at people and reach out and talk to someone new. I have made the best friends through chance encounters.

Who would you pick to write your biography?
I would choose my daughter to write my biography. She has great wisdom and would write with love, but also with honesty and clarity. She would see my soul but write about my mistakes with insight into how they shaped my life.

What’s one thing that you wish you knew as a teenager that you know now?
I wish I would have listened to my mother more and been more respectful.  She knew more than I gave her credit for. I never wanted to be like her when I was younger, but now I want her strength and tenacity and her courage. I wish I could tell her that and tell her I understand all she went through and what shaped her life.


What makes you bored?
I am very seldom bored. There are always so many things to do such as read a book, try a new craft, write, play with my cats, play with my grandchildren, hook up on social media, make something new out of something old. The list is endless.


What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?
The one thing I would redo in my life is to let myself be who God created me to be rather than let society influence me into wearing the masks of what is acceptable. In my old age I finally have let those expectations go and enjoy life so much more.

What makes you happy?
Making the choice to write as a full time career makes me happy. I didn’t realize how much I disliked what I was doing for the last 16 years until I gave it up. Now I feel as I am playing every day even if it might be feast or famine when it comes time to pay the bills. My children and grandchildren keep me smiling all the time.

What makes you scared?
I get scared when I see the disrespect in the world today and the impact of violence in a world where my grandchildren will have to live.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“In the hour of adversity be not without hope For crystal rain falls from black clouds.” -Persian Proverb
 I have it painted on my bathroom wall.

I love that! What would your main character say about you?
“You’ve got scrambled eggs for brains.” I stole that line from a review about one of my books, but Granny would say that. It wasn’t meant to be a compliment, it was supposed to be a bad review, one star, but I loved it, along with them comparing my writing to Dr. Suess. I like him too.

How did you create the plot for this book?
I never know until I start writing what is going to happen. A friend gave me the idea for Granny to spend some time in the cemetery. That idea came after we were all reminiscing about a real grave robber we had in my community in, I believe, the early 60’s. He wrote me a note and said, “This is a great idea for Granny.”

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
I believe it came from Kate Eileen Shannon when she read Granny Snows A Sneak. This is part of what she said, “I've called this series before Lemony Snicket for adults and it still is.”

That's great! What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing? How did you deal with it?
Besides having scrambled eggs for brains, most of the bad reviews have come from people that don’t understand the satire and humor of the book. They think it is too farfetched and too much fantasy. I understand that not everyone is going to like my writing. If you gave me a history book to read or a very graphic book I would not give it a good review, not because they weren’t good books but because it wasn’t my type of book. I probably wouldn’t review it at all because it wouldn’t be fair to the author.

Granny Snows A Sneak is published by Cozy Cat Press, but what steps in self-publication have you personally done, and what did you hire someone to do? Is there anyone you’d recommend for a particular service?
I have self-published my kids books the Granny’s In Trouble Series.  For those and my newest book, Something About Nothing under my label Hermiony Vidalia Books, I designed the covers and did my own uploading for the printing and e-process. My editor for Something About Nothing is D.A. Sarac, The Editing Pen, and I certainly would recommend her expertise.

What are you working on now?
I am working on the fourth book in the Fuchsia Minnesota series for Cozy Cat Press. It will be called Granny Forks A Fugitive.

About the author

Julie Seedorf is a Minnesotan. She calls dinner - supper, and lunch - dinner. She has had many careers over her lifetime but her favorite career was that as mother to her children. In later life she became a computer technician, opening her own business. In 2012, Julie signed a contract with Cozy Cat Press for her Fuchsia, Minnesota series. Books included in that series are Granny Hooks a Crook, Granny Skewers A Scoundrel and released in November 2014, Granny Snows A Sneak. Closing her computer business in January 2014, Julie has transitioned to becoming a full-time writer adding free-lance work for various newspapers, along with continuing her column "Something About Nothing" which is now in book form, in a book of the same name, released in early 2015. Her children's series, Granny's In Trouble, gives her grandkids a hint of the young Grandma underneath the wrinkles. Her books are light and fluffy and highlight the fact that in the midst of life we have to find the humor in bad situations to keep us going. "We all take ourselves too seriously and we need to have a little fun.” Julie secretly yearns to be like the Granny characters in her books. Julie's serious side is revealed in a story included in the newly released book, We Go On – Charity Anthology for Veterans, where the proceeds will go to Veteran's Charities.

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

Character Interview with Pamela Fagan Hutchins' Emily Bernal

About the character

Disgraced paralegal and former rodeo queen Emily Bernal moves back in with her very conservative, religious mother in her West Texas hometown when her husband cleans out their bank accounts and cheats on her with another woman, who turns out to be a man. Broke and desperate, she resists going to work for sexy criminal attorney Jack Holden, at first, until she learns his illegal immigrant client’s six-year-old daughter is missing. Emily becomes obsessed with finding the girl and tracks her through a trail of dead bodies across two states.

Interview with Emily from Heavens to Betsy

Emily, how did you first meet Pamela?
Pamela and I met when she wrote about my friend, Katie Kovacs. I thought she nailed Katie, although, at the time, Katie was super embarrassed about having her whole humiliating life made fodder for the reading public. Alcoholism, totally blowing a celebrity trial in Dallas, and getting rejected big time by the man she was in love with. It was some heavy stuff, but funny. I never told Katie how hard I laughed reading it, so let’s keep that our little secret.

Deal. Want to dish about Pamela?
I can suddenly understand where Katie was coming from about Pamela now. I tried to move back home and put my past behind me, and suddenly I’m reading about Rich and his transvestite lover Stormy and me, and I just know people think I’m the world’s biggest idiot not to have seen it coming. And living with my mother, who thinks she’s the Church Lady but looks more like an aging stripper. It’s all a little much when everyone’s talking about you like that, you know?

Did you ever think that your life would end up being in a book?
The only way I thought I’d be in a book was if I made it on the professional rodeo circuit. I rodeoed all through college, and I won the Southwest Conference in barrel racing my senior year, and my dad was a professional rodeo cowboy. But Dad ran off when I was a teenager, and when Rich asked me to marry him, I gave up rodeo. So who would want to write a book about a paralegal? Because that’s what I became. B-O-R-I-N-G. Or so I thought, until I went to work for Jack.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
I’ll have to tell you about my second favorite, because my favorite would be a spoiler for the ending. In my second favorite scene, my high school nemesis turned Assistant District Attorney, the annoyingly perfect Melinda Stafford, confronts me about the wrong thing at the wrong time, and I swear it was the meds I was on, but POW, I popped her one, fist to the jaw. My new best friend Wallace—he’s a CPS investigator, and gay, which isn’t easy in West Texas—nearly died. I’d wanted to do that since I was twelve.

Did you have a hard time convincing your author to write any particular scenes for you?
I had this one really awesome night with my boss Jack, before I messed up the relationship by spending time with someone he was jealous of. Pamela thought that was a little too private, but once I told her I fell asleep before he could get his boots off, she was OK with it. But we made out like crazy before then, and after I regained consciousness. In my defense, I had been pregnant, so I hadn’t had a thing to drink in awhile.

What do you like to do when you are not being actively read somewhere?
I love my job. I always thought criminal law was kind of smarmy, but Jack makes it sexy. We really help people, you know? It’s really more about constitutional law when you think about due process, right to a trial by jury, and all that other constitution stuff. Well, that, and what politician is spending the night with prostitutes and which wealthy business has a kleptomaniac for a wife.

Juicy stuff! Tell the truth. What do you think of your fellow characters?
When I first met Jack, I didn’t like him much, but he grew on me, to say the least. And I always liked his killer dimple. Wallace, I adore. Nadine, who waits tables at a Thai restaurant by day and slings drinks at a gentleman’s club by night, is the BOMB. She’s a biker chick at heart but a mother and a volunteer for underprivileged kids. I’m pretty lucky when it comes to my fellow characters.



What impression do you make on people when they first meet you? 
People think I’m a dumb blonde at first, but they get over it pretty quickly.

How about after they've known you for a while?
Once they’ve known me awhile, they figure out that I’m the one they want to have around in a fight, or when somebody needs to do something, although the somethings I choose are occasionally in legally gray areas. I get things done.

What's the worst thing that's happened in your life? What did you learn from it?
My dad left us when I was sixteen. He was my hero. For the first few years, he still called and wrote and sent birthday and Christmas presents. Then, when I turned twenty-two, he disappeared for good. I’ve never heard from him since. What have I learned? Well, between him leaving and my husband leaving, I’ve learned that I have to rely on myself. And that I can. I’m a lot stronger than most people think.



What are you most afraid of?
It hurts to even talk about it, but I’m most afraid of not having children. I’m thirty, unmarried, and no children.

What do you like best about Jack, your boss? Least?
I love Jack’s discretion and loyalty, and how he looks in his jeans. I adore his lopsided smile and the way he gets a dimple on the left side of his face when he raises his left eyebrow. I cannot stand the way the man cannot answer a simple question with a straight answer to save his life. And I absolutely hate how discreet and private he is. But those jeans and the left side of his face make up for it.


Does he have a brother you could introduce me to? If your story were a movie, who would play you?
Emma Stone, for sure.

Describe the town where you live.
Windy. Smells like cows. Gets as much snow as most of Colorado. Home of the American Quarter Horse Museum. In the heart of Friday Night Lights fever. Big enough to lull you into complacency and small enough that you run into your high school boyfriend at the gas station. And the absolute nicest people you’ll meet anywhere in the entire world.

Will you encourage your author to write a sequel?
I don’t think I have a choice in the matter — she’s already written one and is on a third! She promises after that she’s done. I will just have to try really, really hard not to do anything worth writing about. To her credit, some amazing things happened to me. In Heaven to Betsy, our client, Sofia, was murdered in jail, orphaning her missing daughter. They had both emigrated illegally from Mexico, and no one seemed to care about finding the girl but me. Then in Earth to Emily, two teenage runaways witnessed the murder of a truck driver and turned to me for help, throwing me into a world of interstate trafficking of stolen goods and dirty cops. And in Hell to Pay, a militant religious group is targeting people and businesses to ruin, and our client gets in the way. Really, my life isn’t usually this exciting. Or at least it wasn’t until I met Jack.

About the author

Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes award-winning and bestselling romantic mysteries and hilarious nonfiction, and moonlights as a workplace investigator and employment attorney. She is passionate about great writing, smart authorpreneurship, and her two household hunks, husband Eric and one-eyed Boston terrier Petey. She also leaps medium-tall buildings in a single bound, if she gets a good running start.

If you like Sandra Brown or Janet Evanovich for fiction or Erma Bombeck for nonfiction, you're going to love Pamela.



Connect with Pamela
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads