FEATURED AUTHORS: JOYCE & JIM LAVENE

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sunshine Merryweather is a young witch with a passion for colorful clothes and good food. She is the owner/operator of the Purple Door Detective Agency. Her partner, John, was brutally murdered three days ago, and she won’t stop until she finds his killer. Aine is only interested in one thing when she walks into the building with the purple door – locating the last man alive in the branch of the O’Neill family she haunts as a beane sidhe. Neither woman is aware of the danger they face as an ancient assassin stalks the old port city of Norfolk, Virginia. It will take more than simple witchcraft or beane sidhe magic to stop the killer. They will have to work together and combine their talents.
But can Sunshine and Aine put aside their differences to stop the murders without tearing each other apart?

INTERVIEW WITH JOYCE LAVENE

How long have you been a writer?
All of my life. Professionally since 1999.

How often do you tweet?
Dozens of times every day.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I love Facebook. It’s a writer’s best friend.

What five things would you never want to live without?
Chocolate. My family. Writing. Rain. Fear.

3D movies are . . .  awful. Not sure how anyone watches them.

If you had a swear jar, would it be full?
Absolutely.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
A bit of both. I doubt if anyone is either or.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Pizza.

What's the biggest lie you ever told?
If I told than everyone would know.

You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be?
Godzilla. I’d like to be big and scary.

What's your relationship with your cell phone?
Love it. Don’t want to live without it.


How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
4-6.

Do you sweat the small stuff?
Always

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Writing the rough draft. Discovering why things are happening in the story.


What are you working on now?
The first book in the Canterville Book Shop Mysteries – A Dickens of a Murder.

Lightning round:
Cake or frosting? Cake.

Laptop or desktop? Laptop.

Chevy Chase or Bill Murray? Eww.

Emailing or texting? Texting.

Indoors or outdoors? Indoors.

Tea: sweet or unsweet? Sweet

Plane, train, or automobile? Car.

Connect with Joyce & Jim:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  

FEATURED AUTHOR: JULIE ANNE LINDSEY

ABOUT THE BOOK

IT manager Mia Connors is up to her tortoiseshell glasses in technical drama when a glitch in the Horseshoe Falls email system disrupts security and sends errant messages to residents of the gated community. The snafu's timing couldn't be worse — Renaissance Faire season is in full swing and Mia's family's business relies on her presence.

Mia doesn't have time to hunt down a computer hacker. Her best friend has disappeared, and she finds another of her friends murdered—in her office. When the hunky new head of Horseshoe Falls security identifies Mia as the prime suspect, her anxiety level registers on the Richter scale.

Eager to clear her name, Mia moves into action to locate her missing buddy and find out who killed their friend. But her quick tongue gets her into trouble with more than the new head of security. When Mia begins receiving threats, the killer makes it clear that he's closer than she'd ever imagined.

INTERVIEW WITH JULIE ANNE LINDSEY

What’s the story behind the title A Geek Girl's Guide to Murder?
This title was inspired by one of my favorite geeky books, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I had a serious internal battle with my feminism before deciding to put the word “girl” in this title. It seems silly, but it bothered me. Mia isn’t a girl. She’s a strong, educated woman. Still, Geek Girl has a better ring than Geek Woman, so what’s an author to do?

Tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
This is book one in The Geek Girl Mysteries series. I’m not sure how many books will be a part of the series, but I can say that books two is already written and set to release early in 2016. Book three will arrive next summer. After that, I don’t know. Hopefully readers love Mia and ask for more.  This spring, the unpublished manuscript was requested by a production company for consideration as a television series. I hear it's making its way through the system, so keep your fingers crossed on that!

I will! Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the same town I live in now. It’s a fantastic place to raise a family, if you don’t mind following the occasional Amish buggy or farm tractor at eight miles per hour. You get used to leaving early or being a little late, but it’s worth it.

What do you love about where you live?
So much. I love the scenery. The peacefulness. The seasons. I love that Amish women go door to door selling their baked goods and that there are more horses and cattle who reside on my street than humans. I love the low crime rate and gorgeous sunsets. The view from my rear deck is basically heaven. Life is good here.

What’s your favorite memory?
Honestly, I think my life is enchanted. It’s definitely blessed. I couldn’t pick a favorite memory sooner than I could pick a favorite child.


What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
Chase your dreams. No one’s going to chase them for you, and no one can take away what you learn in the process. Not the bank or a thief or a jaded ex-husband. The rewards earned from dog-headed tenacity, in the face of adversity, in pursuit of your dreams is all yours. Keep going.

What dumb things did you do during your college years?
Everything. I did all the stupid things. Regularly and with enthusiasm. Let’s just say I’m super thankful those were the days before Instagram and cell phone cameras. Yes. I’m old.



What’s one thing that you wish you knew as a teenager that you know now?
Don’t wear tube tops to amusement parks. They’re no good on roller coasters, and those sneaky contraptions take photos which are displayed at the ride’s end. To everyone. You’re welcome, Cedar Point goers, summer 1994.  



What makes you nervous?
The dentist. Strangers. Animals without people. Monkeys. Dark alleys. Parking garages. Driving. Crowds. Traffic. Public speaking. Meeting new people. Small groups of power, like the PTO and other parent-run organizations. Ringing phones. Dressing rooms. People at my door. I could go on. Forever. 


What makes you happy?
Life. Health. My family. Friends. Twitter and Tumblr. Reading and writing. My many shows and fandoms. Comic Con. Board games. Marvel. Coffee. Sugar. The ocean. Art. Music. Books. Silence. Laughter. I could go on. Forever.

What makes you scared?    
I’m afraid of everything.

What makes you excited?
I get excited really easily. I’m overtly happy, and I make a habit of it.

Do you have another job outside of writing?
I mom. I know mom isn’t a verb, but it should be. Momming should also be a paying gig. I mean in cash, not warm fuzzies and excellent memories. Kids are expensive.

I totally agree! What’s one of your favorite quotes? “She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.” ― Louisa May Alcott, A Story of Experience

Who are your favorite authors?
Janet Evanovich and Gemma Halliday
.

Where and when do you prefer to write?
I will write anytime, anywhere, including but not limited to napkins, receipts from my purse, and my arm.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
When someone tells me my story made them smile, or laugh, I drop the mic and toss my hands over head. That’s a victory, folks. If I can give one reader a reprieve, even for a minute, if I make you smile, I reached my goal.

What are you working on now?
I keep a full plate, so at the moment, I’m celebrating the release of A Geek Girl’s Guide to Murder. I’m editing book two in this series, which arrives in March 2016. I’m writing book one of a new mystery series (that I hope will find a home), and putting the finishing touches on an issue-driven YA which will release next summer. I’m also working on a proposal for a new contract and adjusting my family’s life to the back-to-school schedule. Basically, the usual.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. She’s a self-proclaimed nerd with a penchant for words and proclivity for fun. Julie lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three small children. Today, she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world.

Julie also writes The Patience Price Mysteries series.

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

FEATURED AUTHOR: ANDREW JOYCE

ABOUT THE BOOK

Molly is about to set off on the adventure of a lifetime . . . of two lifetimes.

It’s 1861, and the Civil War has just started. Molly is an eighteen-year-old girl living on her family’s farm in Virginia when two deserters from the Southern Cause enter her life. One of them — a twenty-four-year-old Huck Finn — ends up saving her virtue, if not her life.

Molly is so enamored with Huck, she wants to run away with him. But Huck has other plans and is gone the next morning before she awakens. Thus starts a sequence of events that leads Molly into adventure after adventure; most of them not so nice.

We follow the travails of Molly Lee, starting when she is eighteen and ending when she is fifty-six. Even then Life has one more surprise in store for her.

SALE! Molly Lee is on sale for $0.99 until September 27. 

GUEST POST BY ANDREW JOYCE

My name is Andrew Joyce, and I write books for a living. Amy has been kind enough to allow me a little space on her blog to promote my new book, Molly Lee. The story is a female-driven account of a young naive girl’s journey into an independent, strong woman and all the trouble she gets into along the way.

Now you may possibly be asking yourself, What is a guy doing writing in a woman’s voice? And that’s a good question. I can only say that I did not start out to write about Molly; she just came to me one day and asked that I tell her story.

Perhaps I should start at the beginning.

My first book was a 164,000-word historical novel. And in the publishing world, anything over 80,000 words for a first-time author is heresy. Or so I was told time and time again when I approached an agent for representation. After two years of research and writing, and a year of trying to secure the services of an agent, I got angry. To be told that my efforts were meaningless was somewhat demoralizing to say the least. I mean, those rejections were coming from people who had never even read my book.

“So you want an 80,000-word novel?” I said to no one in particular, unless you count my dog, because he was the only one around at the time. Consequently, I decided to show them City Slickers that I could write an 80,000-word novel!

I had just finished reading Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn for the third time, and I started thinking about what ever happened to those boys, Tom and Huck. They must have grown up, but then what? So I sat down at my computer and banged out REDEMPTION: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer in two months. Then sent out query letters to agents.

Less than a month later, the chairman of one of the biggest agencies in New York City emailed me that he loved the story. We signed a contract and it was off to the races, or so I thought. But then the real fun began: the serious editing. Seven months later, I gave birth to Huck and Tom as adults. And just for the record, the final word count is 79,914. The book went on to reach #1 status on Amazon twice, and the rest, as they say, is history.

But not quite.

My agent then wanted me to write a sequel, but I had other plans. I was in the middle of editing down my first novel (that had been rejected by 1,876,324 agents . . . or so it seemed) from 164,000 words to the present 142,000. However, he was insistent, so I started to think about it. Now, one thing you have to understand is that I tied up all the loose ends at the end of REDEMPTION, so there was no way that I could write a sequel. And that is when Molly asked me to tell her story. Molly was a character that we met briefly in the first chapter of REDEMPTION, and then she is not heard from again.

This is the description from MOLLY LEE:

Molly is about to set off on the adventure of a lifetime . . . of two lifetimes.

It’s 1861 and the Civil War has just started. Molly is an eighteen-year-old girl living on her family’s farm in Virginia when two deserters from the Southern Cause enter her life. One of them—a twenty-four-year-old Huck Finn—ends up saving her virtue, if not her life.

Molly is so enamored with Huck, she wants to run away with him. But Huck has other plans and is gone the next morning before she awakens. Thus starts a sequence of events that leads Molly into adventure after adventure; most of them not so nice.

We follow the travails of Molly Lee, starting when she is eighteen and ending when she is fifty-six. Even then Life has one more surprise in store for her.

As I had wondered whatever became of Huck and Tom, I also wondered what Molly did when she found Huck gone.

I know this has been a long-winded set up, but I felt I had to tell the backstory. Now I can move on and tell you about Molly.

As stated earlier, Molly starts out as a naive young girl. Over time she develops into a strong, independent woman. The change is gradual. Her strengths come from the adversities she encounters along the road that is her life.

With each setback, Molly follows that first rule she set against self-pity and simply moves on to make the best of whatever life throws her way. From working as a whore to owning a saloon, from going to prison to running a ranch, Molly plays to win with the cards she’s dealt. But she always keeps her humanity. She will kill to defend herself and she has no problem killing to protect the weak and preyed upon. However, when a band of Indians (for instance) have been run off their land and have nowhere else to go, Molly allows them to live on her ranch, and in time they become extended family.

This is from a review on Amazon:

A young female in nineteenth-century rural America would have needed courage, fortitude, and firm resolve to thrive in the best of circumstances. Molly Lee possesses all of these, along with an iron will and an inherent ability to read people accurately and respond accordingly.

I reckon that about sums up Molly.

I would like to say that I wrote MOLLY LEE in one sitting and everything in it is my pure genius. But that would be a lie. I have three editors (two women and one guy). They kept me honest with regard to Molly. When I made her a little too hard, they would point out that she had to be softer or show more emotion in a particular scene.

I set out to write a book where every chapter ended with a cliffhanger. I wanted the reader to be forced to turn to the next chapter. And I pretty much accomplished that, but I also wrote a few chapters where Molly and my readers could catch their collective breath.

One last thing: Everything in MOLLY LEE is historically correct from the languages of the Indians to the descriptions of the way people dressed, spoke, and lived. I spend as much time on research as I do in writing my stories. Sometimes more.

It looks as though I’ve used up my allotted word count (self-imposed), so I reckon I’ll ride off into the sunset and rustle up a little vodka and cranberry juice (with extra lime).

It’s been a pleasure,
Andrew Joyce

ABOUT REDEMPTION: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer

Three men come together in the town of Redemption, Colorado, each for his own purpose.

Huck Finn is a famous lawman who does not hesitate to use his gun to protect the weak. He has come to right a terrible wrong.

After his wife’s death, Tom Sawyer does not want to live anymore; he has come to die.
The third man, the Laramie Kid, a killer Huck and Tom befriended years earlier, has come to kill a man.

For these three men, Death is a constant companion. For these three men, it is their last chance for redemption.

INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW JOYCE

How did you get started writing and when did you become an “author?”
One morning, I went crazy. I got out of bed, went downstairs, and threw my TV out the window. Then I sat down at the computer and wrote my first short story. It was soon published in a print magazine (remember them?). I’ve been writing ever since.

Can you share some of your marketing strategies with us?
I go to bloggers and beg for reviews and/or a “guest post” spot on their blog.

Imagine that! Okay, do you have a day job?
I write books for a living, and that’s all. It keeps the wolf from the door.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
As stated above, I do not own a TV. But if a gun was put to my head, and I had to watch only one channel, it would be TCM (Turner Classic Movies). I love old movies.

How often do you tweet?
Almost never.

How do you feel about Facebook?
Ambivalent.

YouTube is . . .
Kinda cool.

What five things would you never want to live without?
Oxygen, vodka . . . and I’ll have to get back to you on the other three.

What is the most daring thing you've done?
Saved a young woman’s life.

That would definitely qualify! What’s one of your favorite quotes?
This is not a quote. It’s just beautiful writing.

"The afternoon came down as imperceptibly as age comes to a happy man. A little gold entered into the sunlight. The bay became bluer and dimpled with shore-wind ripples. Those lonely fishermen who believe that the fish bite at high tide left their rocks and their places were taken by others, who were convinced that the fish bite at low tide."— John Steinbeck, Tortilla Flat

What would your main character say about you?
That I am a lazy, no-account, shiftless so-and-so.


What's your relationship with your cell phone?
We’re seeing a counselor.

Let me know how that works out. Do you have a favorite book?
The Grapes of Wrath.

I'm sensing you like John Steinbeck. Do you sweat the small stuff?
I’m not being bombastic here, but I don’t sweat anything.

If you had to choose a cliché about life, what would it be?
That life is too short. It’s just right.

What are you working on now?
My attention is riveted on a big, tall, frosty glass of vodka and cranberry juice (with extra lime).

Lightning round:
Chevy Chase or Bill Murray?  Bill Murray

Emailing or texting?  Emailing

Plane, train, or automobile? None of the above. I ain’t going anywhere if I can help it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew Joyce lives on a boat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with his dog, Danny.

Connect with Andrew:

Website  |  
Blog  |  
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 

FEATURED AUTHOR: CLEA SIMON

ABOUT THE BOOK

Did a down on his luck former student steal a priceless book? Grad student and cat lover Dulcie Schwartz thinks not, and she sets out to prove it.

It is spring break, and Dulcie Schwartz has stayed behind in almost-deserted Cambridge, Massachusetts to concentrate on her thesis. But when a former student turned vagrant, Jeremy Mumbles, is found injured, with a valuable missing book clutched in his arms, Dulcie can't seem to let it go. What was he doing with the book? And why has it turned up after all these years?

With Jeremy now the prime suspect for a series of break-ins in the area, Dulcie is determined to clear the unfortunate former scholar's name. But when she finds a connection between the book he was carrying and her own research into an anonymous Gothic author, the search for clues takes on a new intensity and a new menace.

KUDOS FOR CODE GREY

I particularly enjoyed the Gothic excerpts, the story behind the silver cat printer’s mark, and especially Dulcie’s relationships with her beloved Mr. Grey and current feline Esme. ~Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries and Meows

Code Grey relates fascinating details not only about academic and literary life but also about history of other importance. ~Laura’s Interests

Ms. Simon writes a great story, with very interesting characters. ~Book Babble

The story is a good, engrossing mystery with interesting characters. You can’t help but keep turning the pages to see what Dulcie does next. ~Socrates’ Book Reviews…

INTERVIEW WITH CLEA SIMON

Clea, how did you get started writing and when did you become an “author?”
I have written for as long as I can remember! I made up stories for my stuffed animals and for the animals in the yard and in the little stream nearby, and once I could write I made little “books” for my family and friends. But I never really thought I could be an author, so I became a journalist. That seemed like a real job! It wasn’t until I’d written three nonfiction books – a logical outgrowth of being a journalist – that I began to write my stories again.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
When the characters take over! There comes a point where the people (or animals) you’ve created start to act in ways that are logical for them – even if this isn’t what I’d planned. I love that.

How long is your to-be-read list?
You’re kidding, right? It’s huge. As is the pile next to my bed!

What books do you currently have published?
I have three nonfiction books and 18 mysteries. The 19th has just been edited, and I’ve just submitted the manuscript for what I hope will be the 20th!

Can you share some of your marketing strategies with us?
I wish I had a good strategy. I try to meet readers when and how I can (Hi! I’m waving madly at you now). It’s hard because I spend so much of my time writing.

How often do you tweet?
Several times a day, usually. Sometimes stuff about writing or books, sometimes just funny stuff I’ve heard or seen around.

How do you feel about Facebook?
Now that I work at home alone, it’s my watercooler!

What five things would you never want to live without?
Not including the people or animals I love, I am guessing? Things . . .  hmmm . . . Books, garlic, wine, chocolate, and my glasses! I’m blind as a bat without my glasses!

Who would you want to narrate a film about your life?
Morgan Freeman! He has the best voice. Plus, I think it would be a funny juxtaposition – his voice and my life.

If you had a swear jar, would it be full?
Most definitely. But I hope it would be inventively full!

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
An introvert. I suspect most writers are. But I am often pleasantly surprised – if I make the effort to actually talk to people, I find it quite invigorating. Still, I have only recently learned that if I go to a mystery/fan convention like Malice Domestic or Left Coast Crime, I should NOT hide in my room!


Do you spend more on clothes or food?
Food! I’m a foodie, and I love love love to cook.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Korean takeout and then peanut-butter/chocolate frozen yogurt for dessert!


What is the most daring thing you've done?
Quit my steady copy editing job at the biggest daily newspaper in town. It was the kind of steady job that people keep for life, but I wanted to see if I could make it on my writing . . . that was 16 years ago, and I’m still here!

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“Bash it out now, tart it up later.” The musician Nick Lowe said that but I find it very useful for writing. It’s kind of like, you have to get a first draft out before you can do any fine tuning.

What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing? How did you deal with it?
Oh, I’ve gotten some pretty nasty reviews!! Basically I curse a lot, and sometimes I cry, and then I move on.


What is your favorite movie?
Too many to count! I love “Impromptu” (woman author heroine!) and “Jackie Brown” and “Desperately Seeking Susan” – all great heroines – and “Moonstruck” and and and . . .

Do you have a favorite book?
Ditto – too many! Hilary Mantel’s A Place of Greater Safety is a regular re-read though.

How about a favorite book that was turned into a movie? Did the movie stink?
Well, I absolutely adore JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and I like the movies very much. But I do have issues with the movies – for Tolkien geeks out there, the depiction of the Ents. Am I right? I got to ask Stephen Colbert (of The Colbert Report) this question, because he’s also a LOTR geek, and he went on about how Faramir was depicted – which I totally agree with! But I still re-watch those movies constantly. (True story: my husband has not read LOTR but enjoys the movies with me. But he likes to tell people about how we can never just watch them, how I’m always stopping them to say, “Well, in the books this is different . . . ” And the first few times, he’d say, “That’s what it is like in the book?” And I would say, “Well, actually, it’s in the appendix . . . ” He enjoys my geekitude.)

Do you sweat the small stuff?
Not in life, mostly (you should see my office!). But when I’m revising a manuscript, I do. I’ll have lists of when my characters last ate and what day it is – I don’t want to have an endless day or to have a character eat dinner twice – or not at all.

If you had to choose a cliche about life, what would it be?
Live fast, die young, leave a beautiful corpse  . . . OOPS! TOO LATE! I guess in reality it is: Life is short. Eat dessert first!


How long is your to-do list?
Huge.


What are you working on now?
I am waiting for the edits on my sixth Pru Marlowe pet noir (When Bunnies Go Bad) and beginning to think about the next Dulcie Schwartz mystery!

Lightning round:
Cake or frosting? Frosting!
Laptop or desktop? Desktop!
Chevy Chase or Bill Murray? Bill!
Emailing or texting? Email!
Indoors or outdoors? Mmmmm . . . Outdoors?
Tea: sweet or unsweet? Sweet!
Plane, train, or automobile? Train! I love train rides. But what I really like are boat rides. May I choose boat?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Clea Simon is the author of 18 mysteries in the Theda Krakow, DulcieSchwartz, and Pru Marlowe pet noir series. The latter two are ongoing and include her most recent books, Code Grey (Severn House) and Kittens Can Kill (Poisoned Pen Press). A former journalist and nonfiction author, she lives in Somerville, Mass., with her husband, the writer Jon Garelick, and their cat Musetta. She can be reached at CleaSimon.com.

Connect with Clea:
Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WEEEE! NEW GPJ RELEASE

ABOUT THE BOOK

This is not your average Southern town. With a hint of mystery and a lot of laughs, you'll catch a glimpse of everyday life in Goose Pimple Junction in this short story compilation. Short & Tall Tales occurs chronologically between Murder & Mayhem, book 1, and Heroes & Hooligans, book 2, in the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series. Tales is a fun escape that will answer readers' burning questions about the residents of this quirky, small town.

How did Johnny Butterfield become police chief?
How did Tess and Jack get engaged?
How did Ima Jean come to live with Louetta?
How do you celebrate an Apple Day?

These questions and more are answered in Short & Tall Tales in Goose Pimple Junction. Five short stories, one novella, and three recipes will give you more of the unique charm of Goose Pimple Junction, make you laugh, and have your mouth watering. If you want a feel-good read, you've come to the right place. Grab some sweet tea and escape to Goose Pimple Junction.

EXCERPT FROM SHORT & TALL TALES IN GOOSE PIMPLE JUNCTION

He may be good-looking, but good-looking won't put food on the table.  
~Willa Jean Coomer


Downtown Goose Pimple Junction was bustling the next morning when Johnny parked his car and walked a block to the diner. The yellow tickets that were stuck under windshield wipers on some of the cars vaguely registered with him because Ima Jean’s abduction was on his mind, and he didn’t have room to think of much else. Periodically, he thought about Martha Maye and how pretty she looked when she’d brought him fried chicken, home fries, macaroni salad, and a slice of apple pie. But he forced his mind back to Ima Jean and how he was going to go about finding her.

The diner was crowded but went deadly silent when he walked in. Everyone stopped talking, and all heads turned his way. He met a few people’s eyes, nodded a hello, mumbled “Morning,” and sat down at the counter next to a man who looked older than Moses.

“You’re mighty brave to bring yourself in here today, Chief. I myself don’t hold no ill will, but then again, I ain’t got a car, so it’s no skin off my nose.”

“Come again—” Johnny started to say, but Willa Jean interrupted him.

“What can I getcha, Chief?” She put an emphasis on “Chief” but the word was dripping with disdain.

Johnny wondered if it was his imagination or was she glaring slightly at him? He put a hand to the back of his neck as he craned his head around, finding several other people giving him the same expression. Curious.

“Coffee, a fried egg, and cheese grits, please.” He flashed her his best grin, but she didn’t seem to notice.

She turned on her heel without another word, calling to Slick, “A deadeye and mystery in the alley, Slick.”

Johnny noticed the old man cackling to himself and wondered what was so funny. He seemed to be a regular. Surely he was used to diner lingo. Moses turned to the man next to him and mumbled something that sounded like, “I haven't had this much fun since the pigs ate my brother.”

Willa Jean came back with a cup and saucer and a pot of coffee. As she poured the brown liquid into the cup, a good amount spilled into the saucer. She looked up at Johnny and deadpanned, “Oops,” but she walked away, making no attempt to clean it up.

Conversation had started again in the diner, but it was in hushed tones, not the loud chatter that Johnny had heard when he first came in. Once again, he looked around the restaurant and noticed furtive glances coming at him. A few words and bits of sentences wafted his way: “a lot of gall, arrogant, outsider, amateur, dumb as a fencepost . . . ” He considered asking the gentleman next to him if this was normal townsfolk behavior, but Willa Jean came back and set a plate in front of him. His gaze went from the plate to her eyes, which seemed to hold a challenge.

“Um . . . ma’am . . . this looks right tasty, but it also looks like poached eggs and hash.”

Willa put all her weight on her right leg and propped her hand on her hip. “Least your eyes work.”

“Well, see . . . I could be mistaken, but I thought I ordered fried eggs and grits.”

“You’re mistaken.” She flung a towel over her shoulder and walked away.

Johnny looked at Moses and said, “I’m late to the party. Wanna tell me what’s going on?”

“Oooh, law,” the man drawled. “That was almost as ugly as Uncle Moody’s divorce.” He swiveled off his stool, saying, “’Scuse me. I have to see a man about a horse,” and he made his way to the restrooms.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
(that's me!)

Amy Metz is the author of the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series: Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction is book 1 and Heroes & Hooligans in Goose Pimple Junction is book t in the series.

Amy is a former first grade teacher and the mother of two sons. When not actively engaged in writing, enjoying her family, or surfing Facebook or Pinterest, Amy can usually be found with a mixing spoon, camera, or book in one hand and a glass of sweet tea in the other. Amy lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Connect with Amy:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

FEATURED AUTHOR: MAXINE NUNES

ABOUT THE BOOK

During a brutal L.A. heatwave, four people are murdered in the Hollywood Hills, and Nikki Easton's best friend Darla Ward has disappeared. The police think she might be one of the victims.
 
In her relentless search for the truth, Nikki discovers the hidden side of her friend's life, laying bare secrets buried before Darla was born, and uncovering widening layers of corruption that reach far beyond Hollywood to the highest levels of government.

"Maxine Nunes crafts an outstanding tale of friendship, murder, love, and betrayal in her impressive debut, Dazzled... Nunes' writing is top-notch from start to finish, and the increasingly suspenseful plot comes together with meticulous precision." --ForeWord Reviews

INTERVIEW WITH MAXINE NUNES

Maxine, how long have you been a writer?
I’ve written or edited for a living my entire life, starting with my first job out of college at Random House. It was an amazing place to be. I read manuscripts and wrote jacket copy and rubbed shoulders with the authors I’d always idolized. But after that — like Nikki Easton, the heroine of Dazzled — I traveled around a lot and was very, very lucky because I kept stumbling into writing jobs. But the most fun I ever had — and the best training ground for fiction — was writing quickie potboiler romances. I was in my twenties, and I wrote ten of them — one a month to pay the rent.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Rewriting, once I have the first draft. I put a lot of work into plotting — it’s the armature everything else is built on — but that’s the tough part for me. Then, once I have the structure — and I know that the work I put in on a chapter is crucial to the whole — I can start to do what I love. Making scenes come alive, creating resonant settings, honing the language. I’ve had so many people praise the plot surprises in Dazzled, but for me the biggest surprises often come from the unexpected interplay of words and images.

How long is your to-be-read list?
Hah! Endless. When it comes to reading purely for pleasure, I’m totally impulsive. Mood of the moment. I’ve been on a Scandinavian mystery jag recently and just finished all the Martin Beck novels, which still seem very modern even though they were written back in the sixties. I’ve also been rereading a bunch of books by Tom Wolfe, because when it comes to both style and nailing the single detail that says everything, he’s pretty phenomenal. So that’s all for fun.

But I also belong to a reading group that likes to take on the tough books, the ones you might not get through on your own. We were not afraid of Virginia Woolf, we read are all seven volumes of Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, wrestled with Gravity’s Rainbow (which, on my own, I would have put down after the first chapter], and a lot more. The people in this group are pit bulls when it comes to tackling the hard stuff.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
A couple of years ago it would have been HBO. Now I’d have to say Showtime, because they’ve got Ray Donovan and Homeland. But I’d probably cheat and sneak over to Lifetime when I get a jones for Project Runway.

How do you feel about Facebook?
At the moment, I’m monumentally bored with it.

For what would you like to be remembered?
The epic novel I haven’t written yet about New York in 1968.

If you had a swear jar, would it be full?
OMG, I’d be a billionaire!

What's the biggest lie you ever told?
“I don’t care.” It’s almost never true.

What is the most daring thing you've done?
Fighting to free my ex-husband from prison in a foreign dictatorship. That was quite an experience. And I plan to use it for a Nikki Easton mystery!

You absolutely should! 
Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
The main branch of the New York Public Library. New York is my hometown, it’s the antithesis of Los Angeles, and the library somehow embodies that. You can feel all the gorgeous complexity of the city and its history when you sit in the reading room — those amazing windows, the intricately carved wood that frames the ceiling murals. And the most amazing thing: hundreds of New Yorkers, and they’re all quiet! 


You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be?
Don Draper on a good day.

Excellent choice. 
What's your relationship with your cell phone?
As close as you can get short of an implant.


Do you have a favorite book?
Almost every book by Philip Roth. I’m heartbroken that he’s stopped writing. The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. I was obsessed with those books when I was in my late teens and recently reread Justine, which I found just as amazing as I did then — the lushness, the sensuality, the complexity, the language. And I love mysteries — there are so many by really great writers — it’s my favorite form of escape.

Mine too! 
How about a favorite book that was turned into a movie? Did the movie stink?
Most movie adaptations do reek, but one that really worked was The Big Sleep. Chandler’s books hit all the reading pleasure centers. And the movie is also a classic. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay (which famously has a giant plot hole in it, but the film is so good no one seems to mind), Howard Hawks directed, and Bogart and Bacall are electric.

What are you working on now?
Two books. One is a Nikki Easton mystery that takes place in Lisbon — and I hope to travel there this fall. I’m also working on that New York novel I mentioned earlier. It does have a murder, but the story is told from multiple points of view, and right now it’s a monster I’m trying to tame.

Lightning round:
Cake or frosting? Frosting! I can totally do without the cake.
Laptop or desktop? Laptop.
Chevy Chase or Bill Murray? The young Chevy Chase, the old Bill Murray.
Emailing or texting? Burned out on both, so face-to-face over a glass of wine.
Indoors or outdoors? Outdoors.
Tea: sweet or unsweet? Sweet if it’s chai, unsweet for anything else.
Plane, train, or automobile? Trains still feel like an adventure, but I live in LA, which means I live in my car.

EXCERPT FROM DAZZLED, A NIKKI EASTON MYSTERY

CHAPTER 1

What’s real? Darla used to ask me. How do you know what’s real? I never understood the question. But then I didn’t have platinum hair and cheekbones that could cut glass, and no one ever offered to buy me a Rolls if I spent one night naked in his bed. Darla was a brilliant neon sign flashing pure escape. You almost didn’t notice that those lovely green eyes didn’t blaze like the rest of her. She was both main attraction and sad observer at the carnival. Something had damaged her at a very young age. We never talked much about it, but we recognized this in each other from the start. Isn’t that what friendship is?

The week she disappeared was as extreme as she was. Triple-digit heat in late August and wavy layers of smog suffocating the city. By ten in the morning, it was brutal everywhere, and on the sidewalks in front of the homeless shelter, with the sun bouncing off the film crew trailers and the odor of unwashed bodies and general decay, it was a very special episode of hell. Beneath an archway, a tall man with a filthy blanket draped over his head rolled his eyes heavenward like a biblical prophet. Or a Star Trek castaway waiting to be beamed up.

In one of those trailers, where air conditioning brought the temperature down to the high nineties, I was being stuffed into a fitted leather jacket two sizes too small. Perspiration had already ruined my makeup and the dark circles under my eyes were starting to show through.

Heat keeping you up, hon? the makeup girl had asked. I’d nodded. Half the truth.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Maxine Nunes is a New Yorker who's spent most of her life in Los Angeles. She has written and produced for television, and currently writes for several publications including the Los Angeles Times. Her satiric parody of a White House scandal won the Pen USA West International Imitation Hemingway Competition.

Connect with Maxine:


Website  | 
Facebook  | 
Goodreads 

Special paperback release price: $6.37 (will be $12.99)

Guest Post: Graeme Smith

ABOUT THE BOOK

Abraham Brown, Patch Hancock, and Indigo Templeton are three American servicemen separated from their platoon, biding their time in southern France during the Second World War when they are captured by a desperate group of Renegade Nazi soldiers. This is a meeting that will change the lives of all three men, their captors, and those of the many people they will encounter in the days, weeks and years following that fateful day.

Abraham and his two compatriots manage to escape from their bonds, into an adventure which is both violent and spiritual, causing each man to examine his inner self and become closer to his associates. The people they meet, including those who may not survive, will affect all of them profoundly, and even shape the strategies of entire countries.

GUEST POST 

by Graeme Smith

INSPIRATION FOR BOOK

The inspiration for The Awakening of Abraham Brown came through my own spiritual awakening which has been a culmination of the following things:

• During the 1970's I practiced Hatha Yoga which involves traditional physical exercises.
• This eventually changed as I became involved with the practice of Raja Yoga during the 1980's which involves meditation techniques and detachment.
• I have studied and practiced Martial Arts for the past 35 years and hold the rank of Fourth Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate.

I wanted to write a story which highlighted man's inhumanity to his fellow brothers and sisters and also the terrible destruction to nature and animals. 

The central character Afro American Abraham Brown has faced racism many times in his native America and he now finds himself thousands of miles away from home, fighting the Nazi's, the biggest racists on earth. 

I needed to highlight the futility of war and to try and point out why some humans become racists and bigots.  I also wanted the story to be balanced and to contain male and female aspects (yin and yang). 

Abraham is accompanied by two fellow white Americans whose lives are transformed whilst being with him.

The story was also brought about through my own personal expression and thoughts which I hope will make each reader examine their own ethics and morals.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Graeme Smith was born in Exeter in 1957.

His father died when Graeme was just 18 months old.

Together with his mother, brother and sister, they were forced to downsize and move house in order to survive (there was no benefits system in the late 1950's). This had a profound effect on all of their lives.

Graeme has three children and two grandchildren.

His hobbies and interests are Kenpo Karate, metal detecting, charity fundraising, collecting knapped flints and dog walking.
He currently works for the NHS at a hospital in Exeter.

He has just written another novel entitled Agrar of the Cornish and is actively seeking an interested publisher for this book.