BOOK REVIEW: The Imaginary Life by Mara Torres

SYNOPSIS

Meet Fortunata Fortuna, at a crossroads but ready to make her mark on the world.

What goes through your head when the person you love leaves you? What do you do with your life when you have to start it all over again? Do you make it up? Nata’s world fills with unanswered questions when Beto leaves her. But time doesn’t stop, and the stories that Nata begins to tell herself about her own life lead her to a place where everything becomes possible again.

GoodReads * Amazon

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REVIEW

The birth of a book is a tough road.  Writing it is only the beginning.  So, what does that say about having the book translated into a language other than your native tongue?  Would that be like sending the book to pre-school for the first time?  I'm not saying there are problems with The Imaginary Life in this respect; I'm saying it takes literary guts.

I see Torres' book as a peek into a woman's mind after the breakup of a significant relationship.  As such, some men may not have much interest in it.  As an exercise in a woman's thought process (without any corresponding emotional investment), many men could find it valuable.

Most women can attest that they have many of the same thoughts as Nata does after a break-up.  The doubts (what did I do wrong? should I start adopting stray cats now?), and the questions (will I ever trust again?  will I ever have another relationship?) should be familiar to any woman reading The Imaginary Life.

Part of the problem is that 'Beto' does not give a clean break.  He and Nata are 'stepping back' from the relationship for awhile, not 'broken up'.  That can only add to Nata's confusion and inability to put the past behind her.  I do think she took a longer than strictly needed time to realize her reunion fantasies were not going to come true.  Part of me did want to pull a Cher from the movie Moonstruck, slap Nata in the face and say, "Snap out of it!"

From a psychological perspective, The Imaginary Life is interesting and instructional.  It is a book where a lot of the 'action' is in the mind.  So, if you are looking for a thrilling book with many twists and turns, this is not it.  If you can learn from Nata's inability to change her circumstances, you just might learn how to solve an issue you face.  While fiction, this book is more educational than entertaining.

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Twitter

Mara Torres is a reporter and author. She earned a degree in journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). Torres began her professional career in radio in the 1990s; a decade later, Hablar por hablar became a leading show on evening radio. In 2006 Torres moved to Spanish Television Information Services, where she is a host of news and entertainment shows. Among other awards, Torres has won the Golden Antenna and the Silver Microphone. She has published two nonfiction books. The Imaginary Life is her first novel and her first book in English. 

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(Disclosure:  I received an e-copy of this book from the author and publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.)  Click the above logo to see the rest of the review schedule and a giveaway!

Other reviews I am posting today:

The Night Visitor by Dianne Emley

And All That Madness by Joan Merrill

(there's a total of four, so the list will grow as the day goes on)

BOOK REVIEW - The Night Visitor by Dianne Emley

SYNOPSIS

In bestselling author Dianne Emley’s chilling new paranormal thriller, a beautiful woman’s romantic past comes back to haunt her in the form of an otherworldly visitor seeking justice.

Gorgeous and successful, Rory Langtry seemed to have it all. Daughter of a movie star and sister of a supermodel, Rory was engaged to sexy artist, Junior Lara. But her bright future went dark one terrible, bloody night that left her sister dead and the accused murderer—Junior—in an extended coma.

Now, five years later, Rory appears to have put the past behind her. She has a wonderful new fiancé and heads a successful cosmetics company. Yet dark secrets threaten. Across town, Junior lies close to death but before he departs he seeks to clear his name.

It starts with a feeling. It turns into a vision. Soon Rory is having sensations that only Junior could experience—from the horrifying to the erotic. Then she learns details about the awful night that only Junior could know, newfound knowledge with potentially fatal consequences. When another act of violence rocks her family, Rory plunges deeper into the unsolved mystery, led by an inexplicable visitor to a dangerous time and place where all will be revealed at last. But until then, Junior will not let her go.

.“A taut, gripping paranormal thriller from page one. You won’t be able to put this book down as Rory—a woman who has everything—fears all she believes is a lie. Excellent!”—Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author of  Maximum Exposure

GoodReads * Amazon * Books-a-Million * Barnes & Noble

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REVIEW

At the beginning of The Night Visitor, Danny Lara believes he has a telepathic connection to his brother, Junior Lara, who has been in a coma for 5 years.  I thought maybe Danny was a little overwrought and still suffering from the devastating injuries his brother had received - and maybe wasn't thinking clearly.  Having only Danny's point of view at the beginning, I was ready to believe that Rory was guilty and that having money shielded her from the consequences of her alleged actions.  But how often are things the way they seem at first?

But then a similar 'connection' develops between Junior and his erstwhile fiancee, Rory.  Her visions start shortly before the family's annual fundraiser for "The Other Victims", an organization to assist family members of victims of violent crimes.  Danny has gone there to get Rory to admit she was the one who killed her own sister and shot Junior out of jealousy.  He doesn't expect to make it out alive, which he doesn't.  But he did expect Rory to 'tell the truth' before he killed her.  Well, she doesn't die.

Rory feels compelled to find the truth about that horrible night five years ago.  But compelled by what?  Or by whom?  Many people around Rory have trouble believing what she is experiencing, finding it easier to believe that Rory is going crazy, but then many of them would probably be disappointed reading a book with paranormal elements.  These people who are rooted to the reality of what can be held and experienced probably would not enjoy movies with talking robots, energy swords and big walking rugs.  (Get it?)

Now, I'm not the most perceptive person in the world, but I'm not the least perceptive either.  Emley's twists and turns in the story kept me guessing right up until the end,  But what a great ride!  It was like a trip on a roller coaster.  You know you're going to be going up and downhill fast; you know there are going to be twists and turns.  But there's still that moment at the top of the first rise, that moment between going up and hurtling downhill at breakneck speed where the reality of what is about to happen makes you question why you got on the ride in the first place.

So, why does Rory have these issues of 'possession' (my term)?  Is it the force of Junior's will?  Or is it karma, the cosmic justice system?  Danny can't prove what really happened.  He's dead.  Junior can't prove what really happened.  He's in a coma and his body has wasted away with agonizing slowness, draining his life.  Rory is the closest one with an interest in solving the crime, so karma picks her to play detective.  The closer she gets to the truth, the closer the killer is to losing everything that s/he has gained by the murder and attempted murder.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Night Visitor, especially from the safe vantage point of outside the book.  The writing is taut and suspenseful.  The emotions are raw.  And the truth will out.  If you like mysteries, if you like thrillers and can handle the little spice of some paranormal elements, The Night Visitor makes a tasty read!

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Website * Facebook * Twitter * GoodReads

Dianne Emley is a Los Angeles Times bestselling author. Her stand-alone paranormal mystery, The Night Visitor, will be published in September 2014. Dianne has received critical acclaim for her mystery series featuring homicide detective Nan Vining, a hard-edged, haunted cop and single mom who's obsessed to find the man who stabbed her and left her for dead. She also writes the Iris Thorne Mysteries about a sexy, single investment advisor in L.A. in the "greed is good" 1980s. Her short fiction has been published in anthologies including Literary Pasadena>. Her books have been translated into six languages. A Los Angeles native, she lives in California with her husband. “Emley masterfully twists, turns, and shocks.” —Tess Gerritsen 

(Disclosure:  I received an e-copy of "The Night Visitor" from the author and publisher via TLC Book Tours and NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.)

Other book reviews I am posting today:

The Imaginary Life by Mara Torres
And All That Madness by Joan Merrill

There will be two additional links later in the day.

WeWriWa-Proverbs 31 - Energy

Weekend Writing Warriors is hosted at WeWriWa.com.  Sign up below with your name, blog and email each week from M-Sa, then share an 8-sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Your post needs to be live between 12:00 noon on Saturday 08/23/14 and 9:00 AM on Sunday 08/24/14. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their 8sunday posts.

Spread the word. Twitter hashtag #8sunday. 

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The "Proverbs 31 Woman" appears to be a bundle of energy.  Where does she get it all...and can she send me some?  She maintains her health insofar as she is able:  she gets enough sleep, and eats food that will fuel her body.  She knows (or can discover) what her purpose is, and does it willingly.  Fulfilling one's purpose gives energy; fighting one's purpose drains energy.

...I believe God loves us regardless of our age, gender, eye color, skin color, level of education, etc etc etc.  I believe as long as we are fulfilling our purpose, we are not 'eating the bread of idleness'.  Let's face it.  It's a big world with a lot that needs to be done.  The world needs people with energy of mind, body and soul.

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This is basically word for word from my original Blogging from A to Z post from April ... with a little creative editing.  I've been working at collecting the posts and making them into an e-book to giveaway.  This week I've hit a bit of a snag.

I wanted to add some quotes for each quality, in addition to any Proverbs 31 verses that happen to fit.  A large quantity of the quotes for "altruism" are really quite negative - anything and everything from blanket questioning people's motives to saying the world would not survive if people kept practicing altruism.  So, I've had a little funk for a couple of days and now I'm picking up the pieces and getting on with it.

Anyway, I talk a lot about purpose in the #8sunday lines.  How do/did you know when you find/have found your purpose?

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The whole reason I'm doing this project is to help inspire women when life is bringing them down.  There's loads of inspiration to be found at Create With Joy, so click the button and give them a read!
 
It's been far too long since I linked up with Kendra at the Living Proverbs 31   And since for the future my WeWriWa posts are all about Proverbs 31, it just seems natural to party with this great group of bloggers!  Go congratulate Kendra and her husband on their little baby boy!  (This hop also takes place on Monday)

TGIBF (Thank Goodness It's Book Friday) #1

(By Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires from Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina (Torre de Babel) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons) - and a heads up as well to PicMonkey where even people as tech illiterate as I am can make a spiffy looking button!

I thought nothing could top yesterday, 3 print books coming by different means (pickup at post office, in the regular mail and by UPS.  Then I go out to the mail box just now and I have three packages shoved in there, and one of them looks like it has more than one book (or a really big one)!  Wanna join me as I unpack?

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PACKAGE #1

(all bookcovers link to the GoodReads page)

SYNOPSIS

Baseball may be America's official favorite pastime, but for Martha Rose and her friends, quilting is far more fun. . .and a lot less dangerous.

A diamond brocade pattern is more quilter Martha Rose's style than a baseball diamond--especially when it comes to the new eyesore of a stadium ruining her lovely San Fernando Valley neighborhood. Martha doesn't know a bunt from a bundt cake, but when she stumbles upon the battered body of baseball coach Dax Martin, she doesn't need a scorecard to know it's foul play. LAPD homicide detective Arlo Beavers is convinced one of her neighbors is responsible. But Martha and her fellow quilters Lucy and Birdie soon discover a whole field of suspects who might have wanted to take the coach out of the game permanently. . .

I received a this book via Lori at Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and will have a review of this book on the blog on Friday, November 7, 2014.  If you have written a cozy mystery and are looking to get a blog tour, you really need to contact Lori.  Her blog sponsors and paid blog tours that she arranges allows her to tour cozy mysteries for FREE!  Lori also offers wonderful reviews and many, many book giveaways at her blog (also accessible through the link above).

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PACKAGE #2

SYNOPSIS

A teenage drummer finds out what life is really like on tour with a rock band in this funny and bittersweet YA novel. For anyone who loved Almost Famous or This Is Spinal Tap.

After being dropped from one band, sixteen-year-old drummer Zach gets a chance to go on tour with a much better band. It feels like sweet redemption, but this is one rocky road trip—filled with jealousy, rivalries, and on-stage meltdowns.

Mark Parsons has written a fast-paced, feel-good novel about a boy finding his place in the world, in a band, and in the music. Zach is a character teens will stand up and cheer for as he lands the perfect gig, and the perfect girl.

I received this book in a giveaway hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  Anyone who reviews that many books and loves caffeine as much as I do is on my A-list!  She recently celebrated her 3rd blogaversary!  HUZZAH!  If you don't already subscribe, you really need to go give CBR a look-see.

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PACKAGE #3 - JACKPOT!!!

SYNOPSIS

Regency London knows Constance Tyrone as the conspicuously celibate founder of the St. Catherine Society, dedicated to helping poor women. One wet November evening a carriage mows down Constance outside her office. Curiously, while her corpse's one foot is bare, the other is shod in a clean satin slipper despite the muddy road. Why was a gentlewoman abroad in the night? And if she died under the wheel, whose hands bruised her neck and stole her monogrammed crucifix?

Dismissing the idea of an accident, Bow Street Runner John Chase forms an unlikely alliance with Penelope Wolfe, wife of the chief suspect. A young mother paying the price for an imprudent marriage, Penelope is eager to clear her husband Jeremy, a feckless portrait painter whose salacious drawings of the victim suggest an erotic interest. Chase's first task is to learn the identity of the mysterious benefactor who goes bail for Wolfe while Penelope traces the victim's last movements. Barrister Edward Buckler, intrigued, shakes off his habitual lethargy and joins their investigation.

As horrifying murders on the Ratcliffe Highway claim all London's attention, the trio discovers that it won't be easy to unravel the enigma of Constance Tyrone, a woman who revives the legend of martyred St. Catherine.

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SYNOPSIS

In the spring of 1812, the Luddites are on the march, Lord Byron is taking London drawing rooms by storm, and Penelope Wolfe has become a lady's companion. When one of the footmen turns up dead with a knife to the heart, Penelope and Bow Street Runner John Chase are entangled in a web of family secrets and political conspiracy that stretches far beyond luxurious St. James's Square.

With the help of barrister Edward Buckler, Chase follows the trail of a mysterious mad woman caught peeping in the window at the corpse. Penelope struggles to fit into the fashionable world, encountering people who hide resentment and deceit under smooth smiles.

Set against a backdrop of millennial fervor with thousands awaiting the end of the world, BLOOD FOR BLOOD explores the simple truth that every drop of blood spilled will be avenged.

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SYNOPSIS

Unhappy wife and young mother Penelope Wolfe fears scandal for her family and worse. A Tory newspaper editor has been stabbed while writing a reply to the latest round of letters penned by a firebrand calling himself Collatinus. 

Twenty years before, her father, the radical Eustace Sandford, wrote as Collatinus before he fled London just ahead of accusations of treason and murder. A mysterious beauty closely connected to Sandford and known only as N.D. had been brutally slain, her killer never punished. 

The seditious new Collatinus letters that attack the Prince Regent in the press also seek to avenge N.D. s death and unmask her murderer. What did the journalist know that provoked his death? Her artist husband Jeremy is no reliable ally, so Penelope turns anew to lawyer Edward Buckler and Bow Street Runner John Chase. As she battles public notoriety, Buckler and Chase put their careers at risk to stand behind her while pursuing various lines of inquiry aimed at N.D. s murderer, a missing memoir, Royal scandal, and the dead editor's missing wife. 

As they navigate the dark underbelly of Regency London among a cast driven by dirty politics and dark passions, as well as by decency and a desire for justice, past secrets and present criminals are exposed, upending Penelope s life and the lives of others."

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I received Die I Will Not from the author via the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.  If you like history and historical fiction, this is the go-to book tour company.  They have 13 tours running as if this writing, and more than 40 in the works.  And they are very helpful and professional.  If you are an author of a historical fiction, or enjoy reading such books, you really need to go check them out!

I will be posting a review of Die I Will Not on Monday, November 17th, 2014, to be followed on Wednesday, November 19th, 2014 by an interview with author S. K. Rizzolo!

So...FIVE (5) BOOKS in 1 day.  That's a new record for me!  WOOHOO! :O)

And because the organizer and participants ROCK, I'm also sharing this post at:

You probably get the drill by now.  Click on the button for warm, fuzzy, friendly creative GEMS!

BOOK REVIEW: Leaving Liberty by Virginia Carmichael

SYNOPSIS

At eighteen, Daisy McConnell left Liberty, Colorado and never looked back. The only bright spot in a childhood of neglect and loneliness was the town librarian, Marie. Now settled as a teacher in sunny Fresno, Daisy does her best to forget everything about Liberty including her drunk father, her MIA mother, and the town she hated with every beat of her heart.

Lane Bennett’s life as a small town cop is pretty close to perfect. He’s got his dog, a pretty date when he needs one, and plenty of time to fish on the weekends. No other place can compare to his hometown and he’s happy to devote his life to keeping the folks of Liberty safe. When Marie passes away, Lane knows one of the best parts about living in Liberty is gone, along with the old Carnegie library. It needs repairs the city can’t afford and the city managers won’t pay the new flood insurance. It’s too bad, but safety comes first.

When Daisy comes home for Marie’s funeral and hears the only safe place she knew as a child is going to close, she refuses to let it happen. She hatches a plan to save the old library, run the summer reading program, and keep Marie’s legacy alive.

She once vowed never to come home and he’s vowed never to leave. Daisy and Lane discover together that true love happens when you least expect it and you should never say never in Liberty.

GoodReads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

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REVIEW

I was born at a wide spot in the road in Pennsylvania (ok - they called it a town).  I spent most of the first ten years of my life in a small town in Maryland.  Then my family moved to Salt Lake City.  I had a child, got married (yes, in that order) and we moved to DFW. Eight years, and two children later, we all moved to rural Kentucky (near my husband's father's family).  This was, for me, the best move of my life.  So, I understand Daisy's desire to leave a small town, even though I'm on the opposite side of that fence.

Maybe it's because I'm older and a parent now, but I LOVE a good, clean romance, and Leaving Liberty provides that wonderfully.  I almost feel like a mother (or older female relative) to Daisy or Lane, delighted at seeing them getting to know each other and wanting to give them an affectionate shove once in a while to get past the awkward moments in a growing relationship.

And the other major story component (keeping the library going) is going to get a hearty thumbs up from me.  People in small towns have the same basic needs as do people in the largest cities.  We just don't have the same tax base, which leads to things like not being able to pay the flood insurance on the library.

I don't know if there are plans for a continuation of Daisy and Lane's story together, but I would love to read one!

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Blog * Facebook

Virginia was born near the Rocky Mountains and although she has traveled around the world, the wilds of Colorado run in her veins. A big fan of the wide open sky and all four seasons, she believes in embracing the small moments of everyday life. A home schooling mom of six young children who rarely wear shoes, those moments usually involve a lot of noise, a lot of mess, or a whole bunch of warm cookies. Virginia holds degrees in Linguistics and Religious Studies from the University of Oregon. She lives with her habanero-eating husband, Crusberto, who is her polar opposite in all things except faith. They’ve learned to speak in short-hand code and look forward to the day they can actually finish a sentence. In the meantime, Virginia thanks God for the laughter and abundance of hugs that fill her day as she plots her next book.

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(Disclosure:  I received an ecopy of "Leaving Liberty" from the author and publisher via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.)

My Most Booknificent Thursday

Ok. So I borrowed the link-up title for the title of my post.  You'll see why in a minute.  (And hopefully Tina will forgive me!) :O)  Click on the button right up there to go see more Booknificent Thursdays!

I GOT THREE BOOKS TODAY!

The first one was at the post office for pickup (I guess our mailbox wasn't big enough):

(Click the cover to see the GoodReads page)

Shana has always had a blind spot for boys. Can she trust the one who's right in front of her?


Sixteen-year-old Shana Wilde is officially on a Boy Moratorium. After a devastating breakup, she decides it's time to end the plague of Mr. Wrong, Wrong, and More Wrong.

Enter Quattro, the undeniably cute lacrosse player who slams into Shana one morning in Seattle. Sparks don't just fly; they ignite. And so does Shana's interest. Right as she's about to rethink her ban on boys, she receives crushing news: Her dad is going blind. Quattro is quickly forgotten, and Shana and her parents vow to make the most of the time her father has left to see. So they travel to Machu Picchu, and as they begin their trek, they run into none other than Quattro himself. But even as the trip unites them, Quattro pulls away mysteriously... Love and loss, humor and heartbreak collide in this new novel from acclaimed author Justina Chen.

(Disclosure:  I received a print copy of this book from booksparks Fall Reading Challenge 2014 - FRC2014, in exchange for my unbiased review.)

FYI - I will also review this book here on the blog, but due to a delivery bobble, the date is a little up in the air - probably the next week or so.

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The second one came in the regular mail:

After her husband’s untimely demise, Marietta Gatti is banished from the family’s villa by her spiteful mother-in-law. She returns to her hometown of Venice and her only kin—a father she hasn’t spoken to since her forced marriage. Her hope of making amends is crushed when she learns she is too late, for he recently has died under suspicious circumstances. Grief-stricken, Marietta retraces her father’s last night only to discover someone may have wanted him dead—and she may be next. When the prime suspect turns out to be the father of the man she is falling in love with, Marietta risks her future happiness and her life to avenge the death of a man she once hated.

Elizabeth McKenna’s latest novel takes you back to the days of eighteenth century Carnival, where lovers meet discreetly, and masks make everyone equal.

(Disclosure:  I received a print copy of this book from Italy Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.)

FYI - I will review this title on this blog on Monday, November 3, 2014

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The third book came via UPS:

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a small village of scattered houses high in the mountains of the Ardèche. Surrounded by pastures and thick forests of oak and pine, the plateau Vivarais lies in one of the most remote and inaccessible parts of Eastern France, cut off for long stretches of the winter by snow.

During the Second World War, the inhabitants of the area saved thousands wanted by the Gestapo: resisters, freemasons, communists, downed Allied airmen and above all Jews. Many of these were children and babies, whose parents had been deported to the death camps in Poland. After the war, Le Chambon became the only village to be listed in its entirety in Yad Vashem's Dictionary of the Just.

Just why and how Le Chambon and its outlying parishes came to save so many people has never been fully told. Acclaimed biographer and historian Caroline Moorehead brings to life a story of outstanding courage and determination, and of what could be done when even a small group of people came together to oppose German rule. It is an extraordinary tale of silence and complicity. In a country infamous throughout the four years of occupation for the number of denunciations to the Gestapo of Jews, resisters and escaping prisoners of war, not one single inhabitant of Le Chambon ever broke silence. The story of Le Chambon is one of a village, bound together by a code of honour, born of centuries of religious oppression. And, though it took a conspiracy of silence by the entire population, it happened because of a small number of heroic individuals, many of them women, for whom saving those hunted by the Nazis became more important than their own lives.

(Disclosure:  I received a print copy of this book from TLC Book Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.)

FYI - I will review Village of Secrets on this blog on Friday, October 17th, 2014.

BOOK REVIEW/INTERVIEW: Lost Legacy by Annette Dashofy

SYNOPSIS

On a sultry summer afternoon, Paramedic Zoe Chambers responds to a call and finds a farmer’s body hanging from the rafters of his hay barn. What first appears to be a suicide quickly becomes something sinister when Zoe links the victim to a pair of deaths forty-five years earlier. Her attempts to wheedle information from her mother and stepfather hit a brick wall of deception, one that brings into question everything Zoe knows about her late father, who died in a car crash when she was eight. Or did he? 

Police Chief Pete Adams fears Zoe’s inquiries are setting her up for deeper heartbreak and putting her in danger. As Zoe and Pete inch closer to the truth, they discover that a missing gun links the crimes which span more than four decades. But the killer isn’t done. Two more Vance Township residents fall victim to the same gun, and when tragedy strikes too close to home, Zoe realizes her family is in the crosshairs.

GoodReads * Amazon 

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REVIEW

Lost Legacy starts with Zoe Chambers in her ambulance on the way to a 'farm accident with probable DOA'.  The address bothers her.  Turns out to be a farm that was once in her mother's family.  I felt the anxiety and adrenaline that goes with a job like that.  And, faster that an EMT can strap you to a gurney, you are caught up in the unfolding drama.

Because the barn with the definitely DOA man is the same barn in which two of Zoe's great-uncles died nearly 50 years before.  These two men changed their wills shortly before their deaths to make the 'freshly-dead' (so to speak) man their beneficiary instead of Zoe's maternal grandmother.

Add to this mixture the facts that the drunk driver responsible for Zoe's father's fatal accident is the same one who found the new body; Zoe's mother and step-father have come to visit; and Zoe's will-they-ever-admit-it-to-each-other love interest's (who happens to be the Chief of Police in the township) father with Alzheimer's is staying with him temporarily.

When I read Lost Legacy, I stayed up wa-a-ay to late to finish it.  Stopping for something like sleep would be like being taken to the hospital in an ambulance and jumping out half-way.  There are as many twists, turns and motives as there are curves in a country backroad.  But, thanks to Dashofy's fluid writing, I never lost track.

So strap on your seat belt and put it in to high gear, because this book is a fantastic ride!

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter

Annette Dashofy has spent her entire life in rural Pennsylvania surrounded by cattle and horses. When she wasn’t roaming the family’s farm or playing in the barn, she could be found reading or writing. After high school, she spent five years as an EMT on the local ambulance service, dealing with everything from drunks passed out on the sidewalk to mangled bodies in car accidents. These days, she, her husband, and their two spoiled cats live on property that was once part of her grandfather’s dairy.

Circle of Influence, the first of the Zoe Chambers mystery series, was published in March of this year.

Her short fiction, including a 2007 Derringer nominee, has appeared in Spinetingler, Mysterical-e, and Fish Tales: the Guppy Anthology. Her latest short story, “Sweet Deadly Lies” appears in Lucky Charms: 12 Crime Tales (December 2013).

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INTERVIEW

1.  Pennsylvania, huh?  Ever heard of Monaca? (I was born there.)

I know exactly where Monaca is! Beaver Valley Mall was one of my hangouts when I was a teen. I live right down Route 18 from there!

2.  How did you become an EMT?

I took Emergency Medical Training in West Virginia (just over the state line from where I live) and then had to take Pennsylvania’s test to certify here as well. A better question is WHY. I was an avid fan of the TV show Emergency! and was in love with Johnny Gage!

3.  How has that helped or hindered in your writing?

My time working on the ambulance was vital in creating the character of Zoe Chambers. It’s been a very long time (we won’t discuss HOW long) since I lived that life, so a great deal of the medical stuff has changed. I have to contact my “tech team” all the time to keep details accurate. But the mindset, the off-beat and sometimes off-color sense of humor required to do that work, and the internal reactions to that life remain the same.

4.  "Circle of Influence" was published in March of this year?  And now "Lost Legacy" is coming out 6 months later?  What's your secret?

I have no secret! I had “Circle of Influence” completed and “Lost Legacy” about ¾ of the way done at the time I signed with Henery Press! That’s the only reason we were able to release them bam, bam, bam. The THIRD Zoe Chambers mystery (Bridges Burned, scheduled for release in April 2015) has taken an entire year to complete, so I’m no speed writer by any means.

5.  What are three things on your writing bucket list?

Getting published was one. I’ve checked that one off. A second one was seeing the west. Prior to last year, I hadn’t been farther west than eastern Indiana, but I spent almost two weeks last June driving around Colorado and New Mexico. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Except now I fully intend to go back! As for #3… I really would like to eventually see all 50 states.

6.  If you could invite any writer from history to your house for supper, whom would you ask and what would you serve?

Hmm. I think the writer “from history” I’d love to sit down and have dinner with—even though he isn’t a fiction author—would be the late Charles Kuralt. I dearly loved him and was devastated when he passed. I think he’s largely responsible for my love of the English language and the poetry of words. As for what I’d serve… That’s a tough one. I’m a vegetarian, but I think he would prefer a meal that reflects the region, so I might take him out to eat in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.

7.  What is your dream vacation?

Going back to my bucket list, I’d really like to spend an entire month simply driving around the west, especially Wyoming and Montana. Throw in some horseback riding out there, and I’d be a happy girl.

8.  Have you written outside the mystery genre?

Years ago, I wrote what is now called fan fiction about Star Trek (sci-fi) and Alias Smith and Jones (western), and I have one never-to-be-published manuscript that probably fits into the romantic suspense genre. Otherwise, everything has been some form of mystery.

9.  Do you have a writing 'schedule' (so many hours per day, certain place, etc.)?

Maybe I should put “having a writing schedule” on my bucket list! On a perfect day (which is about 5 days a year, I think) I draft all morning and work on “other stuff” such as promotion, revising, reading in the afternoon. After supper, I’m brain dead. I have an office in my home where I do most of my writing, but my husband and I have a camp near the Youghiogheny River where we spend a lot of weekends. He fishes. I write. I’m more productive there than anywhere else. If I get stuck, I take a walk or a bike ride to clear my head and then jump right back in.

10.  What is your writer's 'raison d'etre'?

The reason I write is because I can’t NOT write. I’ve tried. The voices in my head get too loud if I don’t put the stuff down on paper. Just kidding. Sort of. Seriously, I enjoy entertaining people. If my books can provide a momentary escape to my readers, I’ve done my job.